Midwestern State University
Encyclopedia
Midwestern State University is a public liberal arts college
in Wichita Falls, Texas
, and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges
. it had about 6,500 students.
Midwestern is one of four independent (not affiliated with a state public university system) public universities in Texas, and is the state's only public liberal arts college.
A further change in the school's status came September 1, 1961, when by action of the 56th Legislature of the State of Texas, Midwestern University became part of the Texas Colleges and Universities System and the junior college division was dissolved. In 1975, the Texas Legislature changed the name to Midwestern State University.
From its beginnings as a municipal junior college housed in a high school building, Midwestern has become a state university whose campus of 255 acres and 70 buildings offers a wide variety of academic programs in liberal and fine arts, mathematics, sciences, business, and applied sciences.
MSU is the only university in Texas with membership in the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges
and was the first public university in Texas to establish a core curriculum. The university is also a member of the Association of American Colleges and Universities
.
Division II athletic teams. MSU is a member of the Lone Star Conference
(LSC). Students can participate in intramural sports
.
Students are members of 16 nationally-affiliated fraternities and sororities
. Sororities on campus include Chi Omega
, Gamma Phi Beta
, Alpha Phi
, Sigma Kappa
, Kappa Delta Chi
, Alpha Kappa Alpha
, Delta Sigma Theta
, and Sigma Lambda Alpha
. Fraternities are Tau Kappa Epsilon
, Sigma Nu
, Sigma Alpha Epsilon
, Phi Sigma Kappa
, Omega Delta Phi
, Kappa Sigma
, Alpha Phi Alpha
, and Kappa Alpha Psi
. A social club that features both genders is Kappa Kappa Psi
.
There are over 100 other student organizations on campus, such as the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, several musical organizations, and sports clubs such as MSU Rugby. Air Force ROTC is also offered with a cross-town agreement with the University of North Texas
.
There is a campus newspaper, The Wichitan, and a student-run television channel and production studio, MSU-TV2.
Liberal arts college
A liberal arts college is one with a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences.Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional...
in Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
, and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges
Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges
The Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges or COPLAC is a consortium of 26 public colleges and universities in 24 states and one Canadian province...
. it had about 6,500 students.
Midwestern is one of four independent (not affiliated with a state public university system) public universities in Texas, and is the state's only public liberal arts college.
History
Founded in 1922 as Wichita Falls Junior College, it was renamed Hardin Junior College in 1937 when it moved to its present location. In 1946, a senior division was added and it was renamed Hardin College. In January 1950, the name changed to Midwestern University, the junior college division remaining Hardin Junior College. In these years, wider recognition came to the school. In March 1948, the University became a member of the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. In January 1959, the University added a Graduate School which received full approval from the State Board of Education in August of that year.A further change in the school's status came September 1, 1961, when by action of the 56th Legislature of the State of Texas, Midwestern University became part of the Texas Colleges and Universities System and the junior college division was dissolved. In 1975, the Texas Legislature changed the name to Midwestern State University.
From its beginnings as a municipal junior college housed in a high school building, Midwestern has become a state university whose campus of 255 acres and 70 buildings offers a wide variety of academic programs in liberal and fine arts, mathematics, sciences, business, and applied sciences.
Academics
Midwestern State University is organized into six colleges with 16 undergraduate programs offering 43 majors and 30 minors, and 9 graduate programs offering 28 majors and 15 minors.MSU is the only university in Texas with membership in the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges
Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges
The Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges or COPLAC is a consortium of 26 public colleges and universities in 24 states and one Canadian province...
and was the first public university in Texas to establish a core curriculum. The university is also a member of the Association of American Colleges and Universities
Association of American Colleges and Universities
The Association of American Colleges and Universities is a national association that is committed to improving undergraduate education and advancing liberal education as the preferred philosophy of education for all students...
.
Athletics
The Midwestern State fields 12 intercollegiate NCAANational Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division II athletic teams. MSU is a member of the Lone Star Conference
Lone Star Conference
The Lone Star Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico...
(LSC). Students can participate in intramural sports
Intramural sports
Intramural sports or intramurals are recreational sports organized within a set geographic area. The term derives from the Latin words intra muros meaning "within walls", and was used to indicate sports matches and contests that took place among teams from "within the walls" of an ancient city...
.
Student life
The university's campus covers 255 acres (1 km²) with over 50 buildings uniformly built of red brick with tiled roofs and arched facades.Students are members of 16 nationally-affiliated fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
. Sororities on campus include Chi Omega
Chi Omega
Chi Omega is a women's fraternity and the largest member of the National Panhellenic Conference. Chi Omega has 174 active collegiate chapters and over 230 alumnae chapters. Chi Omega's national headquarters is located in Memphis, Tennessee....
, Gamma Phi Beta
Gamma Phi Beta
Gamma Phi Beta is an international sorority that was founded on November 11, 1874, at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. The term "sorority," meaning sisterhood, was coined for Gamma Phi Beta by Dr. Frank Smalley, a professor at Syracuse University.The four founders are Helen M. Dodge,...
, Alpha Phi
Alpha Phi
Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity was founded at Syracuse University on September 18, 1872. Alpha Phi currently has 152 active chapters and over 200,000 initiated members. Its celebrated Founders' Day is October 10. It was the third Greek-letter organization founded for women. In Alpha...
, Sigma Kappa
Sigma Kappa
Sigma Kappa is a sorority founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn...
, Kappa Delta Chi
Kappa Delta Chi
----Kappa Delta Chi , also known as K-D Chi, pronounced Kay-Dee-Kie, is a Greek letter, intercollegiate sorority founded by Latina women in the United States...
, Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...
, Delta Sigma Theta
Delta Sigma Theta
Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...
, and Sigma Lambda Alpha
Sigma Lambda Alpha
Sigma Lambda Alpha ', Sorority, Inc. is a Latina based Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women, dedicated to the ideals of community service, academic achievement, and cultural awareness of the different Hispanic cultures and traditions...
. Fraternities are Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...
, Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu is an undergraduate, college fraternity with chapters in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...
, Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...
, Phi Sigma Kappa
Phi Sigma Kappa
-Phi Sigma Kappa's Creed and Cardinal Principles:The 1934 Convention in Ann Arbor brought more changes for the fraternity. Brother Stewart W. Herman of Gettysburg wrote and presented the Creed, and Brother Ralph Watts of Massachusetts drafted and presented the Cardinal Principles.-World War II:The...
, Omega Delta Phi
Omega Delta Phi
Omega Delta Phi , also known as O D Phi, is an intercollegiate fraternity that was founded on November 25, 1987 by seven students attending Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Its seven founders known as the "Men of Vision" to fraternity members wanted to create an organization to help...
, Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma , commonly nicknamed Kappa Sig, is an international fraternity with currently 282 active chapters and colonies in North America. Kappa Sigma has initiated more than 240,000 men on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada. Today, the Fraternity has over 175,000 living...
, Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
, and Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...
. A social club that features both genders is Kappa Kappa Psi
Kappa Kappa Psi
Kappa Kappa Psi is a fraternity for college and university band members. It was founded on November 27, 1919 at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College in Stillwater, Oklahoma. William Scroggs, now regarded as the "Founder," together with "Mr. Kappa Kappa Psi" A...
.
There are over 100 other student organizations on campus, such as the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, several musical organizations, and sports clubs such as MSU Rugby. Air Force ROTC is also offered with a cross-town agreement with the University of North Texas
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...
.
There is a campus newspaper, The Wichitan, and a student-run television channel and production studio, MSU-TV2.
Notable alumni
- Cotton FitzsimmonsCotton FitzsimmonsLowell "Cotton" Fitzsimmons was a college and NBA basketball coach. A native of Hannibal, Missouri, he attended and played basketball at Hannibal-LaGrange Junior College in Hannibal and Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas...
-- Former Phoenix SunsPhoenix SunsThe Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
head coach - Bryan GilmoreBryan GilmoreBryan Gilmore is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent of the National Football League. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2000...
-- National Football LeagueNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
wide receiver - Dan KubiakDan KubiakDaniel James Kubiak was an educator and businessman from Rockdale, Texas, who served as a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1969 to 1983 and again from 1991 until his death in office...
-- State representativeTexas House of RepresentativesThe Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
from RockdaleRockdale, TexasRockdale is a city in Milam County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,440 at the 2000 census.Rockdale was the site of a large Alcoa smelting operation, which could produce 1.67 million pounds of aluminum per day. The ALCOA plant was closed in late 2008 - early 2009.Author George Sessions...
, 1969-1983 and 1991-1998 - Phil McGrawPhil McGrawPhillip Calvin McGraw best known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality, author, former psychologist, and the host of the television show Dr. Phil, which debuted in 2002...
-- Dr. Phil - Tony PeszneckerTony PeszneckerTony Peszneker is a former Canadian professional soccer player.Peszneker played professionally for both the Minnesota Kicks of the North American Soccer League and the Minnesota Thunder of the USL. He also played for the Edmonton Eagles and Edmonton Brickmen in professional outdoor leagues and...
-- Professional soccer player - Jaret ReddickJaret ReddickJaret Ray Reddick is an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and lead songwriter for the Grammy Award-nominated pop punk band Bowling for Soup. He plays a Music Man Axis that has a flag of Texas design on...
-- Original founder and lead vocalist/guitarist of the popular punk band Bowling for SoupBowling for SoupBowling for Soup is an American pop-punk band which originally formed in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1994... - Dominic RhodesDominic RhodesDominic Dondrell Rhodes is an American football running back for the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. He attended Cooper High School in Abilene, Texas. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2001...
-- National Football LeagueNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
running back - Chad SmithChad SmithChad Smith is an American musician, best known as the longtime and current drummer of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith is also the drummer of the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot which includes Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, and Michael Anthony, former Deep Purple vocalist Glenn Hughes' backing band and...
-- Professional soccer player (Charlotte Eagles (USL)) - Beck WeathersBeck WeathersSeaborn Beck Weathers is an American pathologist from Texas. He is best known for his role in the 1996 Everest disaster that has been the subject of many books and films, most notably Into Thin Air and Everest.-Everest:...
-- Motivational speaker and a mountain climber involved in the 1996 Everest disaster1996 Everest DisasterThe 1996 Mount Everest disaster refers to the events of 10-11 May 1996, when eight people died on Mount Everest during summit attempts. In the entire season, fifteen people died trying to reach the summit, making it the deadliest single year in Mount Everest's history...
. - Daniel WoolardDaniel WoolardDaniel Woolard is an American soccer player, who currently plays for D.C. United in Major League Soccer.-College and amateur:...
-- Professional soccer player Chicago FireChicago Fire (soccer)Chicago Fire Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, Illinois. The team competes in Major League Soccer , the top soccer league in the United States and Canada... - Mark BoulwareMark BoulwareMark Boulware is the current United States Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. He began his appointment on 22 November 2007....
-- U.S. Ambassador to Mauritania 2007-Present - Craig SutherlandCraig SutherlandCraig Stephen Sutherland is a Scottish footballer who plays for Plymouth Argyle, on loan from Blackpool, as a centre-forward.-Blackpool:London-born Sutherland joined Blackpool on 26 July 2011 from the North Carolina State University...
-- professional soccer player - Andy TannerAndy TannerAndy Tanner is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at Midwestern State.-External links:*...
-- professional football player
Notable faculty lecturers, and staff
- John TowerJohn TowerJohn Goodwin Tower was the first Republican United States senator from Texas since Reconstruction. He served from 1961 until his retirement in January 1985, after which time he was the chairman of the Reagan-appointed Tower Commission that investigated the Iran-Contra Affair. He was George H. W...
-- United States Senator - Larry McMurtryLarry McMurtryLarry Jeff McMurtry is an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work is predominantly set in either the old West or in contemporary Texas...
-- American novelist