College Centennial
Texas A&M University was founded as a land-grant college in 1876. However, it was not until 1911 that agriculture was formally organized into a college by the board of directors (now board of regents).
In 2011, the Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is celebrating this centennial milestone with a series of special events and commemorations. Join us as we highlight our contributions across the land-grant system this 2011.
Released in 1964, singer-songwriter Bob Dylan’s third studio album, The Times They Are a-Changin’, captured the spirit of social and political upheaval characteristic of the era. And at Texas A&M University and the College of Agriculture, the times were also changing. In 1961, the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences is formed in the School of Agriculture. In 1963, the Department of Animal Husbandry is renamed as the Department of Animal Science to better reflect the broadened scope and focus of the discipline. Today the department is one… Read More →
During the 1950s, a quiet technological and social revolution was taking place across the United States. Chartered in 1950 by the U.S. Congress, the National Science Foundation reflected the public’s interest in scientific research. The foundation’s mission was to set scientific policy and encourage basic research through grants. Dollars for research flowed in, and a new generation of scientists attracted to public research joined the professional ranks at agricultural experiment stations nationwide. Employment increased by 50 percent in less than a decade. Hollywood producers of the 1950s reacted… Read More →
In the first few decades of the 20th century, Texas A&M expanded both upward and outward. As enrollment increased and funding became available, the directors initiated a building program that would continue throughout the 1920s and 1930s. They also formed new departments and expanded the college system by adding branches in other parts of the state. In 1916, the Stock Judging Pavilion and a dairy barn were built, and the Department of Agricultural Education was established. In 1917, John Tarleton Agricultural College in Stephenville and North Texas Agricultural… Read More →
