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Arlington College 1895-1902

In the spring of 1895, Edward Emett Rankin, the Father of Arlington College,” suggested that the citizens of the community of Arlington open a private college in the town; he proposed the names of Lee M. Hammond and William M. Trimble for co-principals. Later that year, on one block of land donated by the Ditto and Collins Land Company, the one-building school opened its doors.

At opening, the college had a faculty of six and from 75 to 100 students. The curriculum covered elementary through high school grades, with courses in mathematics, grammar, Latin, and the natural sciences. In 1901, due to the lack of funds, Arlington College ceased to operate in full scale.

Carlisle Military Academy 1902-1913

In 1906 the Arlington College Corporation deeded the property to a board of trustees who agreed to turn it over to any school which operated in the building for four years. Carlisle Military Academy met this requirement and on June 2 took over with Dr. James M. Carlisle as superintendent.

As Carlisle Military Academy, the campus was enlarged to four city blocks (ten acres), containing an administration building and three barracks for cadets. The curriculum covered two preparatory years and four academic years. The faculty of eight taught courses in mathematics, history, science, business, Latin, grammar, and military science and tactics.

The cadets became familiar with military discipline, which aimed at producing well developed citizens. The Academy closed in 1913 for lack of funds.

Arlington Training School 1913-1916

The Arlington citizens’ board, determined to have a college in their town, leased the property to Dr. H.K. Taylor in 1913. He became president of Arlington Training School with his son-in-law as principals. The faculty of seven taught English, mathematics, history, science, foreign languages, vocational, business and agriculture courses. The classes were small to allow individual attention to each pupil and therefore to help mold his character. Military discipline was employed at the school.

Girls were admitted to the college and offered a special program in music. The school stressed athletics and physical training for all.

As public high schools became more numerous, private academies began to wane. In 1916 the training school closed due to insufficient funds. It became Arlington Military Academy under John Dodson’s supervision; losing its high academic rating due to lack of funds, the Academy closed after one year of operation.

Grubbs Vocational College 1917-1923

In 1916 Judge V. W. Grubbs enlisted the citizens of Arlington in a campaign for legislation to make Arlington’s college a state vocational school. The campaign successfully ended on March 26, 1917 when Governor James Ferguson signed the bill creating the two year junior college which was to be part of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas system.

The Grubbs Vocational College property consisted of the Carlisle Military Academy’s ten acres in addition to 100 acres contributed by the Texas A&M system. M. L. Williams was appointed dean and served in that capacity throughout the school’s operation.

During Grubbs’ first year as a state institution the enrollment was 66, with a faculty of 14. The school’s curricular emphasis was in the area of agriculture, mechanical arts, and industry related fields. By 1923, courses in pre engineering, business administration, vocational carpentry and accounting had been added. In that year, 240 students were enrolled.

North Texas Agricultural College 1923-1949

In 1923 a bill was passed by the state legislature changing the school’s name from Grubbs Vocational College to the North Texas Junior Agricultural College (the “Junior” was later dropped).  The reason for the change was given as the private connotation of the individual’s name “Grubbs” and the limit in function imposed by “vocational”.

North Texas Agricultural College was still a two-year college within the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College system. During the 1924-25 school year the faculty numbered 30; in 1934, after an administrative change, the college had a faculty of 50 and an enrollment of 1023.

From 1934 on, the school offered courses in agriculture, commercial, domestic and mechanical arts, military science and vocational education, as well as the usual academic courses. Two-Year courses in agriculture, business administration, pre-med, pre-law, home economics and various engineering fields were also offered.

By 1934 the college owned a farm of 100 acres, while the campus itself consisted of 33 acres.

Arlington State College 1949-1967

With the year 1949 came another name change for the school, as the largest state-supported junior college in the Southwest became known as Arlington State College.

Emphasis in the two year-year junior college was placed on agriculture, home economics, business and secretarial administration, and pre engineering.

By 1953, the number of departments narrowed to five: agriculture, arts and sciences, business administration, engineering and fine arts. ROTC came to the campus in 1956; all agricultural courses were discontinued in 1958.

In 1959 the school was elevated to senior college status. At that time the college became divided into two departmentalized schools, the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering, and two divisions, one in business administration and the other a technical institute.

The college embarked in 1964 upon the largest expansion program in the history of ASC. The three million dollar program included construction of new buildings and parking lots. December of that year found ASC accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

The University of Texas at Arlington 1967- Present

The University of Texas at Arlington found its final name in 1967 when the University of Texas Regents, with legislative approval changed the schools name to the University of Texas at Arlington. From the first block of land occupied by 75 students, the college has sprouted into 420 acres and more than 100 buildings in the center of the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. The University of Texas at Arlington is home to over 25,000 students pursing bachelor’s, masters, and doctoral degrees in 180 different fields.

After 110 years of progress and growth, The University of Texas at Arlington can take pride in the heritage which has prepared it to meet the challenges of the future.