page_title: History of Texas A&M University–Commerce
section_title: East Texas State College (1957–1965)
hierarchical_section_title: History of Texas A&M University–Commerce / East Texas State College (1957–1965)
caption_attribution_description: English: The James G. Gee Library on the campus of Texas A&amp;M University–Commerce in Commerce, Texas (United States).
context_page_description: The history of Texas A&M University–Commerce began in 1889 when William L. Mayo founded a private teachers' college named East Texas Normal College in Cooper, Texas. After the original campus was destroyed in a fire in July 1894, the college relocated to Commerce. In 1917, the State of Texas purchased and transformed it into a state college, and renamed it East Texas State Normal College. Mayo died of a sudden heart attack the same day the Texas Legislature voted to buy the college, and he never heard the news. 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. From the 1920s through the 1960s, the college grew consistently, in terms of student enrollment, number of faculty, and size of the physical plant.
  The school was renamed East Texas State College in 1957, after the Legislature recognized its broadening scope beyond teacher education. It integrated in 1964 when ordered to do so by the Board of Regents. It was renamed East Texas State University in 1965, after the establishment of the institution's first doctoral program in 1962.
context_section_description: East Texas State Teachers College (ETSTC) was renamed East Texas State College (ETSC) in 1957, after the Texas Legislature recognized the broadening scope of the institution beyond teacher education. The ETSC era witnessed substantial growth in student enrollment, from approximately 3,100 students in 1958–59 to 6,810 in fall 1965. It also saw a significant development of the college's physical plant under President Gee: a new library, student center, and multiple dormitories were built, and by 1966 the value of the school's buildings exceeded $22 million. Academic developments during this period were also significant, including the establishment of an honors program in 1961, the authorization to grant doctorates in English and education from 1962, and a continued increase in the percentage of ETSC professors holding Ph.D.s, growing from roughly 45% in 1957 to 58% in 1966.
  ETSC integrated on June 6, 1964 when ordered to do so by the Board of Regents, and Velma Waters became the first African American undergraduate student at the college, while Charles Garwin became the first African American graduate student as well as the first to graduate (in January 1966). Students were still subject to the principle of in loco parentis and its related curfews, dress codes, and strict enforcement of regulations, although they also enjoyed events such as Kappa Delta Pi's spelling bee, a Mexican-themed "Down South Week", and an antebellum-themed "Old South Week". 1959 alone witnessed the lifting of a long-standing ban on national fraternities and sororities and the establishment of a Forum Arts Program that brought "distinguished speakers and cultural attractions" to campus.
caption: James G. Gee Library, built during the ETSC era, in 2016
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "ILCE-5100", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "350", "Image YResolution": "350", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "ILCE-5100 v1.00", "Image DateTime": "2016:03:26 10:56:19", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "364", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 3, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0, ... ]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail ImageDescription": "", "Thumbnail Make": "SONY", "Thumbnail Model": "ILCE-5100", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail Software": "ILCE-5100 v1.00", "Thumbnail DateTime": "2016:03:26 10:56:19", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "38516", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8034", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/160", "EXIF FNumber": "11", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2016:03:26 10:56:19", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2016:03:26 10:56:19", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "3223/320", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "463/128", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "16", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "6000", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "4000", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "38224", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "24", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[16, 50, 7/2, 28/5]", "EXIF LensModel": "E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS"}