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Former names | Tillotson Collegiate and Normal Institute (1875–1952) Samuel Huston College (1876–1952) Huston–Tillotson College (1952–2005) |
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| Type | Privatehistorically black university |
| Established | 1875; 150 years ago (1875) |
| Affiliation | UNCF |
Religious affiliation | United Methodist Church,United Church of Christ |
| Endowment | US$11.5 million[1] |
| President | Melva K. Wallace |
| Provost | Archibald W. Vanderpuye |
| Students | 1,160[2] |
| Undergraduates | 968 |
| Postgraduates | 55 |
| Location | , U.S. 30°15′53″N97°43′21″W / 30.2648°N 97.7224°W /30.2648; -97.7224 |
| Campus | 24 acres (9.7 ha) |
| Colors | Maroon & gold [3] |
| Nickname | Rams |
Sporting affiliations | NAIA –RRAC |
| Website | htu.edu |
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Huston-Tillotson College | |
| NRHP reference No. | 100007662 |
| Added to NRHP | April 22, 2022 |
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Huston–Tillotson University (HT) is aprivatehistorically black university inAustin, Texas, United States. Established in 1875, it was the first institution of higher learning in Austin. The university is affiliated with theUnited Methodist Church, theUnited Church of Christ, and theUnited Negro College Fund. Huston–Tillotson University awards bachelor's degrees in business, education, the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, science, and technology and a master's degree in educational leadership. It also offers alternative teacher certification and academic programs for undergraduates interested in pursuing post-graduate degrees in law and medicine.
Huston–Tillotson University began with the 1952 merger of two earlier schools: "Tillotson College" and "Samuel Huston College".
"Tillotson Collegiate and Normal Institute" was chartered as acoeducational school in 1877 by the American Missionary Society of Congregational churches and its namesake, George Jeffrey Tillotson.[4] It opened on January 17, 1881, and had 12 presidents: "William E. Brooks, first president (1881-85), was succeeded by John Hershaw (1886), Henry L. Hubbell (1886-1889), William M. Brown (1889-93), Winfield S. Goss (1894-95), Marshall R. Gaines (1896-1904), Arthur W. Partch (1905-06), Isaac M. Agard (1907-18), and Francis W. Fletcher (1919-23). J. T. Hodges, the first African American to be president (1924-29), was followed byMary E. Branch (1930-44) and William H. Jones, who became president in 1944."[4] Tillotson College was awomen's college from 1926 to 1935.[4]
"Samuel Huston College" developed out of an 1876 Methodist Episcopal conference.[5][6] An 1883 agreement with theFreedmen's Aid Society led to the development of the college. The college was named after Samuel Huston of Marengo, Iowa, and the college opened in 1900.[5]
On October 24, 1952, Tillotson College and Samuel Huston College merged to form "Huston–Tillotson College".[7] It then became "Huston–Tillotson University" on February 28, 2005.[8]
Before the merger, future baseball legendJackie Robinson accepted an offer from his old friend and pastor Rev. Karl Downs[9] who was president of the college, to be the athletic director at Samuel Huston College, then of theSouthwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).[10]
Before joining the Kansas City Monarchs, Robinson coached the school's basketball team for the 1944–45 season. As a fledgling program, few students tried out for the basketball team, and Robinson even resorted to inserting himself into the lineup for exhibition games. Although his teams were outmatched by opponents, Robinson was respected as a disciplinarian coach, and drew the admiration of, among others,Langston University basketball playerMarques Haynes, a future member of the Harlem Globetrotters.[10]
In September 2025, Huston–Tillotson University received a $150 million donation fromRoss Moody. This single donation is the largest in Huston–Tillotson's history and one of the largest ever to a HBCU.[11]
| 1875 | Tillotson Collegiate and Normal Institute opens |
| 1876 | Huston College opens |
| 1935 | Tillotson is a women's college. |
| 1952 | Huston–Tillotson College is established when the two colleges merge. |
| 2005 | The school becomes Huston–Tillotson University. |
Since 2022,Melva K. Williams serves as president of Huston–Tillotson University.[12] She was preceded byArchibald W. Vanderpuye, an interim president.[13]
HTU offers undergraduate and graduate degrees through the following:
The W.E.B. Dubois Honors Program is a selective program that provides highly qualified undergraduate students special academic and extracurricular opportunities.[14]
HTU has anengineeringdual degree program withPrairie View A&M University. Under this program, HTU undergraduates complete preliminary required courses on campus and then automatically transfer to Prairie View A&M to complete their engineering degree. Students who successfully complete the program will receive two degrees: a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from HTU and a Bachelor of Science in an engineering discipline from Prairie View A&M.[15]
Huston–Tillotson University's campus is located at the site of the former Tillotson College on a land feature formerly known to local residents as Bluebonnet Hill. The 24-acre (9.7 ha) campus is located in East Austin, between seventh and 11th streets near I-35 and downtown Austin. East Austin has historically been the city's designated place for African-American culture and empowerment largely due toJim Crow segregation laws.[16]
Most of the buildings on campus follow the same nomenclature as the name of the university, with hyphens denoting the importance of the contributions of individuals from both colleges before the merger.
TheAnthony and Louise Viaer Alumni Hall (formerly known as the Old Administration Building) is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.
In the fall of 2015, the student body was 57% female and 43% male. 68% identified as Black, 22% identified as Hispanic, 6% identified as non-Hispanic White, and the remaining 4% identified with other ethnicity or racial groups.[17]
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The Huston–Tillotson athletic teams are called the Rams. The university is a member of theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in theRed River Athletic Conference (RRAC) since the 1998–99 academic year. The Rams previously competed as a founding member of theSouthwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) from 1920 to 1921 to 1953–54 (when it was majority known as Samuel Huston College), which is currently anNCAA Division IFCS athletic conference.
Huston–Tillotson competes in 12 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer and track & field; women's sports include basketball, soccer, softball, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading and eSports.
The baseball team plays at historicDowns Field at East 12th Street and Alexander Avenue.
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