KHMER Intellectuals: Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University, often called A&M or TAMU, is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas. It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. It opened on October 4, 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, the first public institution of higher education in the state. In 1963, the Texas Legislature renamed the school to Texas A&M University to reflect the institution's expanded roles and academic offerings. The letters "A&M" no longer have any explicit meaning, but are retained as a link to the university's past. The nickname "Aggie" refers to students, alumni, and sports teams of Texas A&M.

http://www.tamu.edu/

Texas A&M's designation as a land, sea, and space grant institution reflects a broad range of research with ongoing projects funded by agencies such as NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Naval Research. Working with agencies such as the Texas AgriLife Research and Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M has a direct presence in each of the 254 counties in Texas. The university offers degrees in over 150 courses of study through ten colleges and houses 18 research institutes. Texas A&M has awarded over 320,000 degrees, including 70,000 graduate and professional degrees.

As a Senior Military College, Texas A&M is one of three public universities with a full-time, volunteer Corps of Cadets. It provides more commissioned officers to the United States Armed Forces than any other school outside of the service academies.

History

The Texas Legislature established Texas A&M in 1871 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, then known as Texas A.M.C. The U.S. Congress funded the new land-grant college, the state's first public institution of higher education, through the Morrill Act in 1862. The act auctioned land grants of public lands to establish endowments for colleges where the "leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and mechanical arts... to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life".

A state committee established Texas A&M in Brazos County, which donated 2,416 acres (10 km2) near Bryan, Texas. Classes began on October 4, 1876 with 40 students and 6 faculty members. With mandatory Corps of Cadets participation and military training, enrollment climbed to 258 students before declining to 108 students in 1883, the year the University of Texas opened in Austin, Texas. Though originally envisioned as a part of the University of Texas System, Texas A.M.C. had a separate Board of Directors from the University of Texas.

In 1997, the school was further honored with the establishment of the George Bush Presidential Library on the western edge of the campus. Operated by the National Archives and Records Administration, it is one of twelve American presidential libraries. Former President George Bush remains actively involved with the university, frequently visiting the campus and participating in special events.

With strong support from Rice University and the University of Texas at Austin, the Association of American Universities inducted Texas A&M in May 2001, based on the depth of the university's research and academic programs. In 2006, University President Robert Gates resigned from his position to become the U.S. Secretary of Defense.

Endowment

The Texas A&M University System (TAMUS) receives revenue from two primary endowments which complement revenues received from both research and tuition. TAMUS holds a minority stake in the Permanent University Fund (PUF), a Texas public endowment fund contributing to eighteen institutions and six agencies in the University of Texas and Texas A&M University systems. As of 2006, the PUF ending net asset value stood at $10.3 billion, with $400.7 million, in FY 2007 transferred to the Available University Fund for distribution to both university systems. The Texas A&M System receives a third of the accumulated interest from the PUF, while the University of Texas System receives the other two-thirds, due to a 1931 Texas Legislature decision. Texas A&M also benefits from a private endowment, the Texas A&M Foundation, which totals over $1.17 billion in assets. Combined, the total endowment for the TAMUS stands at $5.6 billion, as of 2006.

Research

Texas A&M has participated in over 500 research projects in over 80 countries and leads the Southwestern United States in annual research expenditures. The university conducts research on every continent and has formal research and exchange agreements with 100 institutions in 40 countries. Texas A&M ranks 13th among U.S. research universities in exchange agreements with institutions abroad and student participation in study abroad programs, and has strong research collaborations with the National Natural Science Foundation of China and many leading universities in China.

Texas A&M owns three international facilities, a multipurpose center in Mexico City, Mexico, the Soltis Research and Education Center near the town of San Isidro, Costa Rica, and the Santa Chiara Study Abroad Center in Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy. In 2003, over 1,200 Aggie students, primarily undergraduates, studied abroad. Additionally, the university includes two branch campuses: Texas A&M at Qatar located in Education City in Doha, Qatar devoted to engineering disciplines and Texas A&M University at Galveston in Galveston, Texas, devoted to marine research and host to the Texas Maritime Academy.

Texas A&M's Center for International Business Studies is one of 28 supported by the U.S. Department of Education. The university is also one of only two American universities in partnership with CONACyT, Mexico's equivalent of the National Science Foundation, to support research in areas including biotechnology, telecommunications, energy, and urban development. In addition, the university is the home of "Las Americas Digital Research Network", an online architecture network for 26 universities in 12 nations, primarily in Central and South America.

Campus

Texas A&M's College Station campus, one of the largest in America, spans 5,200 acres (21 km2) plus 350 acres (1 km2) for Research Park. The university is part of the Bryan-College Station metropolitan area located within Brazos County in the Brazos Valley (Southeast Central Texas) region, an area often referred to as "Aggieland". According the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2008, the population of Brazos County is estimated at 175,122. Money Magazine, in 2006, named College Station the most educated city in Texas, and the 11th most educated American city, due largely to the size of the university. Aggieland is centrally located within 200 miles (320 km) of three of the 10 largest cities in the United States and 75% of the Texas and Louisiana populations (approximately 13.1 million people). The area's major roadway is State Highway 6, and several smaller state highways and Farm to Market Roads connect the area to larger highways such as Interstate 45.

Academic Reputation

The 2009 U.S. News and World Report ranks Texas A&M 64th, tied with Rutgers University, among "national universities" and 23rd among public universities. The Washington Monthly ranks the school 1st nationally with criteria based on research, community service, and social mobility. Newsweek International ranks Texas A&M as the 77th university globally based on "openness and diversity" as well as "distinction in research". Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranks the university 50th nationally and 88th internationally based on educational quality, faculty quality, and research output. The Times Higher Education Supplement ranks Texas A&M 60th among the world's top 100 technology universities, 24th among America's top biomedicine universities, and 50th among North America's top 50 universities. The 2008 Kiplinger's Personal Finance ranks the school as the 25th best value public university based on in-state tuition, and the 9th best value public university based on out-of-state tuition. The John Templeton Foundation listed Texas A&M as one of the thirty-five American college programs that "communicate[s] the values of honesty, trust, respect, responsibility, integrity, and fairness in the classroom".

Faculties