Texas Tech University Archives
Establishment of TTU, Board of Regents, Early TTU Footage, Texas Tech Songs and Traditions, Publications on Texas Tech History and Departmental Histories
Texas Senate Bill No. 103 provided for the establishment of a “State college west of the 98th meridian and north of the 29th parallel,” thereby setting the ground work for the creation of Texas Technological College. Among the purposes of the college was to provide a “co-educational college giving thorough instruction in technology and textile engineering from which a student may reach the highest degree of education.” Passed on February 10, 1923, Senate Bill No. 103 is commonly referred to as the school charter. Lubbock, Texas, was officially selected as the site of a new college on August 8, 1923 by the Locating Board. In the fall of 1925, Texas Technological College opened. Then, from 1959-1969, debates grew over renaming the college, and on Sept. 1, 1969, the Board of Directors officially change the name to Texas Tech University.
- U 113.1 Locating Board Records, 1923 and 1938: This 7 box collection contains the applications, proposal and supplemental information submitted by 36 applicants for the location of Texas Technological College. Several include black and white photographs, maps and blueprints. A few also have leather covers. Some of the proposal books and accompanying information have been digitized and are available online here.
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Senate Bill No. 103: To Establish The Texas
Technological College
[6.0 MB] -
Minutes of the First Meeting of the Board of Directors of
the Texas Technological College, held at Sweetwater, Texas, on March 2,
1923
[15.7 MB]
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Proposal to the Locating Board for the placement of Texas
Technological College at Lubbock, Texas, 1923
[14.4 MB]
- U 399.1 Establishment of Texas Tech, 1915-1923: This collection consists of six encapsulated vendor's lien notes that were originally identified as "land used to establishing Texas Technological College." The notes "were secured by deed trust and vendor's lien on Lots 5, 6, 7 & 8, Bloack 9, Dillard Subdivision, of Sec. 1, Block E2, in Lubbock County, Texas." The names on the liens include J. A. Hodges, M. C. Overton, G. R. Overton, Jno. E. Penny, F. W. Boerner, and P. F. Brown.
- U 261.1 College of Human Sciences (1981) - "Fond Memories" by Anna Belle Collins Collier was written in 1993 and reflects on the first four years of Texas Tech and the College of Home Economics. Collier was a 1929 Texas Tech graduate. Covered in her reflections are the first registration day, convocation, pep meeting, shirt-tail parade, the formation of the Arenaritas, the Women's Athletic Association, the boarding houses used when no dormitories yet existed, early student organizations, and various school events and groups.
- Margaret V. Dupree oral history interview (1981) - talks about Lubbock celebration getting Texas Tech and father's involvement with selecting Lubbock
- William Curry Holden oral history interview - faculty (tape 1, 10/4/76) - talks about establishment of Texas Tech
- Harve Kendrick oral history interview (1975) - Selection of Lubbock and establishment of Texas Tech
- See also Jeannie Robinson's reference file for her paper on "The Location of Texas Technological College in Lubbock" (1981).
See also Alumni, Former Staff and Faculty Interviews for more on Texas Tech history
The TTU Board of Regents, formerly known as the Board of Directors, oversees the university's growth, governance and maintenance. It is composed of nine members chosen by the governor.
The Board of Directors/Board of Regents Meeting Minutes and the Indexes to the Minutes (1923-2000) have been digitized and are available for viewing online.
The meeting minutes from 1999-present are available on the TTU Reports website. Although the meeting minutes for years previous to 1999 are currently not online on this site, an index of attachments to these meetings is available. It is arranged chronologically.
Tech promo film narrated by Tech graduate Clint Formby, 1947 (links to YouTube; 5:08 minutes long). The December 4, 1948 issue of The Toreador has an article on the front page about a Tech movie called "Futures Unlimited" in which Clint Formby serves as a narrator. This film on YouTube must be the same one as the $5000 one described in the Toreador article, which was financed by the Tech Chamber of Commerce and the Student Council. At the 0:54 mark Formby states "born only in 1925, Tech has already left its babyhood and is in its years of adolescence. Before it are growth and progress, and before it lies its maturity... it's unlimited future." (A VHS copy of this film resides in Box 20 of U276.2 Center for Campus Life Records, 1945-2016.
Texas Tech Songs and Traditions
Songs associated with Texas Tech:
- 1925 - "O, College Mother, Beautiful" (College Hymn) by Dr. Paul Whitfield Horn, 1st President of Texas Tech
- 1926 - "Tech Spirit Songs"
- 1927 - "Texas Tech" by W. R. Waghorne
- 1930 - "The Matador Song" by R. C. Marshall, music by Harry Lemaire
- 1937 - "Fight Raiders Fight" by Carroll McMath, music from Three Days Fantasia-Overture by Adolph Lotter
- 1944 - "Fight on for Texas Tech" and "Texas Tech Has Got to Win" by Thornton Allen
- 1942 - "Red Raiders" by Fred Waring; the song was recorded by the Tech Band and chorus in 1950
The 1926 Texas Technological College Song Book included the following songs:
"O, College Mother, Beautiful" (College Hymn), "Glory to Alma Mater", "The Tech of Texas State", "Anvil Chorus", "The Soldier's Chorus", "Hail! Hail! The Tech's All Here!", "Matador Song", "Good Morning", "Our Girls", "My Bonnie", "Good Night", "Farmer Leidigh Had a Farm", "Spanish Cavalier", "Funicule, Funicula", "Bingo", "Jingle Bells", "Texas!" by W. R. Waghorne, 1924, "Star Spangled Banner", "Columbia, The Gem of the Ocean", "America", "Battle Hymn of the Republic", and "Onward, Christian Soldiers."
The 1940 Texas Tech Song Book included the following songs:
"O, College Mother, Beautiful" (College Hymn), "Matador Song", "Fight on For Texas Tech!", "Texas Tech Has Got to Win", "Let's Go Texas Tech", and "Fight, Raiders, Fight."
Texas Tech Traditions:
History of the "Guns Up" Tradition at Texas Tech was written by L. Glenn Dippel in 1998 -- see U 23.6 Sports Information collection. Dippel is credited with coming up with the hand sign.
The first Monday in May of each year is officially "Texas Tech Day" [Board of Directors' Policy Statements, August 22, 1964]
Other Texas Tech traditions can be found the university's A History of Texas Tech webpage. Another tradition at Tech is class gifts by the graduating senior class. Here are some of these gifts:
- 1943 - funds were later used to help purchase a scoreboard for the athletic field (BOR 8/14/48)
- 1948 - bronze name plates for campus buildings (BOD 7/7/48)
For Charter Day, 1973-1978, History of Texas Tech University, 1960-2001, and Texas Tech Traditions, 1961-1965 (see U 184.3 University News and Publications)
Publications on Texas Tech History (available online):
- The Opening of a New Institution focuses on the new college's history, its opening, and statistics such as the number of students enrolled. Of particular interest is page 23 which addresses the attendance of women at the college.
- The Directory of Texas Technological College, 1925-1926 lists the names and addresses of the first faculty, staff and students at the newly established college.
- The Appeal of Texas Technological College, 1928 gives an overview of the significant facts concerning the newly established college
- Early images and information on Texas Tech are available in the 1931 publication Pictorial and Information Bulletin
- The 1934 publication, Live in the New Dormitories at Texas Technological College, gives an overview of the student housing options
- The First Ten Years of Texas Technological College presents facts for the college's tenth anniversary in 1935
- The
Women's Hall Handbook, 1935-1936 and the
Women's Hall Handbook,
1936-1937 outline the rules and etiquettes pertaining to a young
female student attending Texas Technological College.
- The Texas Tech Students' Handbook 1936-1937 gives a good overview of the things a new student needed to know when attending the college.
- Texas Technological College: Its Growth and Its Needs, published in 1937, presented a strong overview of the needs concerning issues dealing with the young college's infrastructure, faculty, student to faculty ration, degrees programs, and accreditation.
- Texas Technological College Bulletin is a mostly pictorial bulletin dated 1938
- The Annual Open House program covers the 8th annual open house of the Division of Home Economics for 1940
- Texas Technological College - Where? Why? What? Who? The Future? was published in 1943
- Student Life at Texas Tech gives a glimpse of the social and academic life of a 1950's Tech student.
- Texas Technological Campus Tour Guide, published by the Texas Tech Bookstore, dates before 1969 and includes brief descriptions of various buildings as well as a nice campus map.
Departmental Histories available online:
Several departmental biographies and historical overviews have been written by Texas Tech faculty and staff, including:
- An Early History of Chemistry at Texas Tech University,1925-1970
- What Agriculture at Texas Technological College Offers You with Announcements for 1928-1929
- Education in Home Economics at Texas Technological College with Announcements for 1929-1930
- Engineering at the Texas Technological College, 1936
- The 13th Annual Engineer's Show highlighted the work of seniors of the Division of Engineering in 1941
- Foreign Languages at Texas Tech University, 1967-2002
- Brief in Support of the Request for Petroleum Engineering Facilities at Texas Technological College, 1947
- Petroleum Engineering, 1949
- Textiles and the New Generation: How the Texas Technological College is Training the Youth of America for the Cotton Milling Industry