Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi facts for kids

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Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi

Former name	University of Corpus Christi (1947–1971) Texas A&I University at Corpus Christi (1971–1977) Corpus Christi State University (1977–1993)
Motto	The Island University
Type	Public research university
Established	1947; 77 years ago (1947)
Parent institution	Texas A&M University System
Endowment	$24.7 million (2021)
President	Kelly M. Miller
Provost	Ahmed Mahdy (interim)
Academic staff	712
Students	10,762 (Fall 2021)
Location	Corpus Christi , Texas , United States 27°42′44″N 97°19′31″W / 27.7121°N 97.3254°W / 27.7121; -97.3254
Campus	Island, 396 acres (1602555.14 M²)
Colors	Blue, Green, and Silver
Nickname	Islanders
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division I – Southland
Mascot	Izzy the Islander

Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi (Texas A&M–Corpus Christi, TAMU–CC, A&M–Corpus Christi, or A&M–CC) is a public research university in Corpus Christi, Texas. It is part of the Texas A&M University System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

History

The university's island campus

Pottery exhibit by art students in the Dr. Hector P. Garcia Plaza

TAMU-CC originally opened in 1947 as the University of Corpus Christi, a private university operated by the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT).

After the campus was severely damaged by Hurricane Celia in 1970, the school (which had financial problems since the outset) could not afford to rebuild and requested the Texas Legislature for assistance. The Legislature approved opening a branch of the Texas A&M University System the following year; UCC held its final graduating class in 1973, and BGCT sold the campus to the state shortly thereafter, retaining 10 acres to maintain a student religious center.

Originally named Texas A&I University at Corpus Christi, it was later named Corpus Christi State University before joining the Texas A&M University System in 1989 and taking its current name.

Presidents

	Presidents of TAMUCC	years as president
1	E. S. Hutcherson	(1947–1948)
2	R. M. Cavness	(1948–1951)
3	W. A. Miller	(1952–1965)
4	Joseph Clapp	(1966–1968)
5	Leonard Holloway	(1968–1969)
6	Kenneth Maroney	(1969–1973)
7	Whitney D. Halladay	(1973–1977)
8	Barney Alan Sugg	(1977–1989)
9	Robert R. Furgason	(1990–2004)
10	Flavius C. Killebrew	(2004–2016)
11	Kelly M. Miller	(2017–present)

Academics

U.S. university rankings

USNWR National University	395-435
Washington Monthly National University	348

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi offers 33 undergraduate majors, 25 graduate programs, and six doctoral programs through six colleges.

The College of Liberal Arts has seven departments, housing 12 undergraduate and six graduate degrees, ranging from the arts to criminal justice to psychology.

The College of Business offers eight undergraduate and two graduate degrees and is accredited by AACSB.

The College of Education and Human Development offers teacher certification in more than 30 areas as well as three undergraduate degrees, 11 graduate programs, and two doctoral programs.

The College of Science offers eight undergraduate and three graduate degrees.

The College of Engineering offers five undergraduate and two graduate degrees.

The College of Nursing and Health Sciences offers two undergraduate degrees and four graduate degrees, including the doctor of nursing practice.

The College of University Studies offers a degree in university studies.

The university also includes The School of Arts, Media, and Communication within the College of Liberal Arts.

Centers, institutes, and affiliates

TAMUCC Entrance and Harte Research Institute building

The Carlos Truan Natural Resource Building, opened in 1993, was named in honor of late State Senator C. Truan of Corpus Christi, who helped to obtain funding for the facility.

The Conrad Blucher Institute for Surveying and Science is a research institute dedicated to geospatial science. The Institute was founded by an endowment from the Conrad Blucher family. Research by the institute includes the Texas Coastal Ocean Observation Network (a tide monitoring system), Texas Spatial Reference Center research for the Texas Height Modernization, and other geospatial research relating to surveying and mapping.

The Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies brings scientists to the campus to strengthen TAMU-CC's research on environmental issues facing the Gulf of Mexico, area wetlands, coastal waterways, and beaches. Other centers on campus conduct research on biodiversity through offshore scientific diving expeditions, and aid in oil spill response, hurricane tracking, and commercial shipping.

The Lone Star UAS Center of Excellence & Innovation is one of the six unmanned aircraft system test sites in the US, designated by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2014.

Student life

Student government

The Student Government Association at TAMU-CC hosts the officers of the student body. The SGA runs a three-branch system, with the Executive Board consisting of the Student Body Officers, the Legislative Branch consisting of the Student Senate, and the Judicial Branch consisting of the Chief and Associate Justices.

The current legislative branch, or Student Senate, has two underlying groups of senators: general senators, which holds an international senator, a student veteran senator, a housing senator, an athletics senator, disability services senator, and a library senator. The college senators, which holds three senators for each of the seven colleges: Business, Education & Human Development, Liberal Arts, Nursing & Health Sciences, Science & Engineering, Graduate Studies, and University College.

Elections for SGA are held twice a year, once near the close of the spring for all positions and then at the opening of the fall for the freshman senators and remaining vacancies from the spring elections.

Publications

TAMU-CC has an entirely student-run newspaper, Island Waves. It was first published in 1993, and is, in part, funded through student fees and advertisement sales. Issues are published every Thursday throughout the fall and spring semesters, with three issues printed over the summer.

Islander Magazine is a biannual news publication for Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, first published in the Fall of 2006.

Greek life

TAMU-CC is home to three Interfraternity Council Fraternities (IFC): Phi Gamma Delta, Sigma Phi Epsilon, and Sigma Pi. The university has four National Panhellenic Sororities (NPC). Alpha Gamma Delta, Delta Delta Delta, Gamma Phi Beta, and Zeta Tau Alpha. The university also has six Multicultural Greek Council organizations (MGC): Lambda Theta Alpha, Sigma Lambda Gamma, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Omega Delta Phi, Alpha Phi Alpha, and Kappa Delta Chi. Greek Life is a growing aspect of the TAMU-CC campus gaining notoriety and size over the years since it began at the university in 1998.

Islander Dining Hall

The Dining Hall opened in 2014.

Islander Dining Hall has been designated as an Ocean Friendly Restaurant (OFR). It is the second university dining hall in the nation to receive the designation. As part of 400 OFR in the U.S., Islander Dining Hall is working to lower an estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic entering the world's marine ecosystems. Elizabeth Alford, Marketing Manager for the Islander Dining Hall, said of the designation:

"With the university surrounded by Oso Bay and Corpus Christi Bay, it is important that we take the initiative to reduce the amount of plastic and Styrofoam waste that could potentially come from Islander Dining Hall. . . . It is imperative that we use our location as an educational tool for our students. This recognition encourages our community to be stewards of the environment."

Islander Dining Hall has banned the use of Styrofoam, plastic bags, plastic plates, and plastic utensils. Islander Dining Hall also uses reusable food ware for onsite dining, recycles and provides biodegradable coffee cups and to-go plates.

Athletics

Islanders men's basketball player Stephen Giwa during the 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The Texas A&M–Corpus Christi (TAMUCC) athletic teams are called the Islanders. The university is a member of the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Southland Conference since the 2006–07 academic year. Prior to that, the Islanders had competed as an NCAA Division III Independent from 1999–2000 to 2001–02; as well as an NCAA D-I Independent from 2002–03 to 2005–06.

TAMUCC competes in 14 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, tennis, and track & field (indoor and outdoor); women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track, and field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

Nickname/mascot

TAMUCC's team nickname, the Islanders, was taken from the institution being located on an island. Their mascot is "Izzy the Islander", a blue figure designed to represent the "coastal lifestyle" of Corpus Christi. He was redesigned in 2022, previously depicting a costumed man with a tiki mask headdress, grass skirt, and spear. Prior to that, the official mascot was "Tarpie" the Tarpon.

Men's basketball

The TAMUCC Islanders basketball team is coached by Jim Shaw and play their home games at the American Bank Center as well as at the Dugan Wellness Center on the university's campus. They have played in the NCAA tournament three times, most recently in 2023. From 2021 to 2023 the Islanders were coached by Steve Lutz, who would move on to coach at Western Kentucky University after winning 1 regular season and 2 tournament titles with the team.

Women's cross country

The TAMUCC Islander cross country team is regarded as the most successful sport in school history, as the women's team has won seven of the nine conference titles (more than any other team in the history of Texas universities). In 2009, they scored the highest at the regional meet, with a sixth-place finish. In 2018, under new head coach Brent Ericksen, the Islander women won the Southland Conference title by one point, making the win the smallest margin in conference history.

Facilities

Notable buildings on campus:

Bay Hall
Corpus Christi Hall
Dr. Robert R. Furgason Engineering Building
Dugan Wellness Center/Island Hall
Early Childhood Development Center
Michael and Karen O'Connor Building
Mary and Jeff Bell Library
Performing Arts Center
Tidal Hall
University Center

Community engagement

Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi operates the Coastal Bend Business Innovation Center as part of the College of Business. The center is a U.S. Economic Development Administration University Center. The center provides support for new ventures to resident (on-site) and non-resident clients.

The Art Museum of South Texas has been affiliated with the university since 1995. The museum traces its roots to the Centennial Museum founded in 1936 and now occupies an area on Corpus Christi Bay across the channel from the Texas State Aquarium. The Art Museum is one of several attractions that are part of the Sports, Entertainment, and Arts (SEA) district of Corpus Christi.

The university operates the Antonio E. Garcia Arts & Education Center. The center provides programming and classes for the community and particularly for k-12 students and those who are at-risk students.

Notable people

Alumni

Justin Butts, writer and host of KEDT "Your Wholesome Heritage Garden" radio show
Chris Daniels, basketball player
Robert Gammage, Texas politician
Paulette Guajardo, politician, mayor of Corpus Christi
Rose Meza Harrison, Texas politician
Kim Henkel, screenplay writer, producer and actor
Cassandra Jean, actress, model, and beauty pageant
Kevin Palmer, basketball player
Sarah Pauly, softball player
Albert Ramon, Chief Meteorologist for CBS News Chicago WBBM-TV
Richard D. Sorenson, educational leadership author
Raul Torres, Texas politician
Larry D. Wyche, United States Army Lieutenant General