Texas A&M University–Commerce is a public university in Commerce, Texas. With an enrollment of over 12,000 students as of fall 2017, the university is the third-largest institution in the Texas A&M University System. Founded in 1889, the institution is also the fifth-oldest state university or college in the State of Texas.
Located on the northeastern edge of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, approximately from downtown Dallas, the university attracts traditional resident students from the Metroplex and also from the smaller communities of Northeast Texas. In addition to the main campus in Hunt County, the university has satellite campuses in downtown Dallas and Mesquite; it also offers courses in Corsicana and Midlothian in partnership with Navarro College and in Frisco and McKinney with Collin College.
History
The history of Texas A&M University–Commerce commenced in 1889 with its establishment as East Texas Normal College (ETNC) in Cooper by Kentucky native William L. Mayo as a private teachers' college based on Normal principles. ETNC relocated to Commerce after its original campus was destroyed in a fire in July 1894. One of Commerce's chief advantages was that it was well connected by rail, boasting regular service on the St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas ("Cotton Belt") to Dallas, Sherman, and Texarkana and on the Texas Midland Railroad to Paris, Ennis, and Houston.
ETNC was renamed East Texas State Normal College in 1917 after it was acquired by the State of Texas and transformed into a public college. In 1923, it was renamed East Texas State Teachers College to define its purpose "more clearly", and in 1935, it began its graduate education program.
The institution was renamed East Texas State College in 1957, after the Texas Legislature recognized its broadening scope beyond teacher education. Following the inauguration of the institution's first doctoral program in 1962, its name was changed to East Texas State University (ETSU) in 1965. It integrated in 1964 when ordered to do so by the board of regents. ETSU obtained a separate board of regents in 1969, and the approval to open a branch campus in Texarkana in 1971.
While the student body shrank in size in the late 1970s and early 1980s, it became increasingly diverse as older nontraditional students, ethnic and racial minorities, and international students all grew in numbers. The economic downturn in Texas in the mid-1980s seriously threatened the university, leading to proposals to close it entirely before a bus trip with 450 supporters trekked to the State Capitol in a show of support that ultimately secured its continued existence. In 1996, ETSU was admitted into the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS) and renamed Texas A&M University–Commerce (A&M–Commerce). ETSU's former branch campus in Texarkana was renamed Texas A&M University–Texarkana and admitted into TAMUS as a separate university.
University presidents
William Leonidas Mayo (1889–1917) Randolph Binnion (1917–24) Samuel Henry Whitley (1924–46) Arthur C. Ferguson (Interim)(1947) James Gilliam Gee (1947–66) D. Whitney Halladay (1966–72) F.H. McDowell (1972–82) Charles J. Austin (1982–87) Jerry D. Morris (1987–97) Keith D. McFarland (1997–2008) Dan R. Jones (2008–16) Ray Keck (2016–18) Mark J. Rudin (2018–present)
Colleges and schools
Texas A&M University–Commerce comprises six academic colleges awarding degrees in more 100 diverse disciplines.
The College of Education and Human Services is perhaps the most well-known college within the university and is one of the foremost education-focused institutions in the state of Texas among all universities, both public and private, and has produced numerous successful and notable teachers and school administrators. Texas A&M Commerce has agreements with many school districts in the DFW area and Northeast Texas to send their undergraduates to student-teach, and also has a notable graduate school for those educators who are in pursuit of advanced degrees in teaching and education and also, a well known doctoral program for those pursuing a PhD in education. Accordingly, Texas A&M-Commerce is a Level II Doctoral Research University, classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. In the summer of 2013, the College of Education and Human Services at Texas A&M-Commerce was ranked number one in Texas for teaching education among all universities, public and private, and 13th in the entire nation by the Directory of U.S. Colleges Database Online Magazine.