Introduction

The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government.
Sam Houston

Cultivated mind is the guardian genius of Democracy, and while guided and controlled by virtue, the noblest attribute of man. It is the only dictator that freemen acknowledge, and the only security which freemen desire.
Mirabeau B. Lamar

Where liberty has arisen, learning must be cherished—or liberty itself becomes a fragile thing.
Lyndon B. Johnson

Mission of the University

The mission of the University is to achieve excellence in the interrelated areas of undergraduate education, graduate education, research, and public service. The University provides superior and comprehensive educational opportunities at the baccalaureate through doctoral and special professional educational levels. It contributes to the advancement of society through research, creative activity, scholarly inquiry, and the development and dissemination of new knowledge, including the commercialization of University discoveries. The University preserves and promotes the arts, benefits the state’s economy, serves the citizens through public programs, and provides other public service.