Huston–Tillotson University


Huston–Tillotson University is a private historically black university in Austin, Texas. Established in 1875, Huston–Tillotson University was the first institution of higher learning in Austin. The university is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ, and the United Negro College Fund. Huston–Tillotson University awards bachelor's degrees in business, education, the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, science, and technology and a Master's degree in educational leadership. The university also offers alternative teacher certification and academic programs for undergraduates interested in pursuing post-graduate degrees in law and medicine.

History

The history of Huston - Tillotson University lies in two schools: Tillotson College and Samuel Huston College.
Tillotson Collegiate and Normal Institute was chartered as a coeducational school in 1877 by the American Missionary Society of Congregational churches and its namesake, George Jeffrey Tillotson. It opened on January 17, 1881 and had 12 presidents: "William E. Brooks, first president, was succeeded by John Hershaw, Henry L. Lubbell, William M. Brown, Winfield S. Goss, Marshall R. Gaines, Arthur W. Partch, Isaac M. Agard, and Francis W. Fletcher. J. T. Hodges, the first African American to be president, was followed by Mary E. Branch and William H. Jones, who became president in 1944." Tillotson College was a women's college from 1926 to 1935.
Samuel Huston College developed out of an 1876 Methodist Episcopal conference. An 1883 agreement with the Freedmen's Aid Society led to the development of the college. The college was named after Samuel Huston of Marengo, Iowa and the college opened in 1900.
On October 24, 1952 Tillotson College and Samuel Huston College merged to form Huston-Tillotson College. It then became Huston–Tillotson University on February 28, 2005.
Before the merger, future baseball legend Jackie Robinson accepted an offer from his old friend and pastor Rev. Karl Downs who was president of the college, to be the athletic director at Samuel Huston College, then of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Before joining the Kansas City Monarchs, Robinson coached the school's basketball team for the 1944–45 season. As a fledgling program, few students tried out for the basketball team, and Robinson even resorted to inserting himself into the lineup for exhibition games. Although his teams were outmatched by opponents, Robinson was respected as a disciplinarian coach, and drew the admiration of, among others, Langston University basketball player Marques Haynes, a future member of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Academics

HTU offers undergraduate and graduate degrees through the following:
The W.E.B. Dubois Honors Program is a selective program that provides highly qualified undergraduate students special academic and extracurricular opportunities.
HTU has an engineering dual degree program with Prairie View A&M University. Under this program, HTU undergraduates complete preliminary required courses on campus and then automatically transfer to Prairie View A&M to complete their engineering degree. Students who successfully complete the program will receive two degrees: a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from HTU and a Bachelor of Science in an engineering discipline from Prairie View A&M.

Campus

Huston–Tillotson University's campus is located at the site of the former Tillotson College on a land feature formerly known to local residents as Bluebonnet Hill. The campus is located in East Austin, between 7th and 11th streets near I-35 and downtown Austin. East Austin has historically been the city's designated place for African-American culture and empowerment largely due to Jim Crow segregation laws.
Most of the buildings on campus follow the same nomenclature as the name of the university, with hyphens denoting the importance of the contributions of individuals from both colleges before the merger.

Anthony and Louise Viaer Alumni Hall

The Anthony and Louise Viaer Alumni Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

HTU Student Body

In fall 2015, the student body was 57% female and 43% male. 68% identified as Black, 22% identified as Hispanic, 6% identified as Non-Hispanic White, and the remaining 4% identified with other ethnicity or racial groups.

Athletics

Huston–Tillotson teams, nicknamed athletically as the Rams, are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, primarily competing in the Red River Athletic Conference. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, soccer and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, soccer, softball, track & field, and volleyball. The baseball team plays at historic Downs Field at East 12th Street and Alexander Avenue.

Notable alumni