Midwestern State University

Midwestern State University
Motto	Per Scientam ad Excellentiam
Motto in English	Through Knowledge to Excellence
Established	1922
Type	Public
President	Dr. Jesse Rogers
Provost	Alisa White
Students	7000 (As of Fall 2010)
Location	Wichita Falls, Texas,  United States
Mascot	Mustang Maveric
Website	mwsu.edu

Midwestern State University is a public liberal arts college in Wichita Falls, Texas, and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. As of 2009^[update] 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. ^[1]

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 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.

Athletics

The Midwestern State fields 12 intercollegiate NCAA Division II athletic teams. MSU is a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC). Students can participate in intramural sports.

Student life

The university's campus covers 255 acres (1.0 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. 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.

Notable alumni

• Cotton Fitzsimmons -- Former Phoenix Suns head coach
• Bryan Gilmore -- National Football League wide receiver
• Dan Kubiak -- State representative from Rockdale, 1969-1983 and 1991-1998
• Phil McGraw -- Dr. Phil
• Tony Pesznecker -- Professional soccer player
• Jaret Reddick -- Original founder and lead vocalist/guitarist of the popular punk band Bowling for Soup
• Dominic Rhodes -- National Football League running back
• Chad Smith -- Professional soccer player (Charlotte Eagles (USL))
• Beck Weathers -- Motivational speaker and a mountain climber involved in the 1996 Everest disaster.
• Daniel Woolard -- Professional soccer player Chicago Fire
• Mark Boulware -- U.S. Ambassador to Mauritania 2007-Present
• Craig Sutherland -- professional soccer player

Notable faculty lecturers, and staff

• John Tower -- United States Senator
• Larry McMurtry -- American novelist

Twin Universities

• Environment Campus Birkenfeld

References

1. ^ [1]

External links

• Official website
• Graduate Studies website
• Official athletics website
• Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges

Coordinates: 33°52′31″N 98°31′19″W / 33.875317°N 98.522053°W / 33.875317; -98.522053