
#REDIRECT University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin, often called UT or Texas, is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. It is consistently College and university rankings as the best public university in the state and as one of the best public universities in the nation (considered a Public Ivy). Although it is the most selective public university in Texas, it still has the List of largest US universities by enrollment single-campus student enrollment in the nation, with nearly 50,000 undergraduates and graduate students attending. No public or private university in the Southwest United States can match the breadth and quality of the university's research endeavors, or its United States dollar195 million (as of 2001) in annual federal research funding. It has also been ranked as one of the best research universities in the world. The school has many top academic and professional programs, including national top ten programs in engineering, computer science, Business school, Law school, pharmacy and public affairs, among many others. Its astronomy department administers the McDonald Observatory located in the [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/DD/rjd3.html Davis Mountains] of West Texas. == History == The University of Texas was originally conceived in 1839, when the Congress of the Republic of Texas set aside land for a "university of the first class" in the new state capital, Austin, Texas . At first located on the legendary 40 acres (160,000 m²) then known as ''College Hill'', the University has since expanded, the term 40 Acres is still used to refer to the central campus. On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman barricaded himself in the observation deck of the tower of the Main Building with a sniper rifle and other weapons, killed 14 Austin residents, and wounded more. The observation deck was closed until 1968, and then closed again in 1975 following a series of suicide jumps during the 1970s. The observation deck has been reopened since 2000 for guided tours only. == Campus == The University encompasses about 350 acres (1.4 km²) on its main campus adjacent to downtown Austin and about 850 acres (3.4 km²) overall. The University is home to the LBJ Presidential Library [http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/] and the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center [http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/home.html]. The Ransom Center's holdings include one of only 21 remaining complete copies of the Gutenberg Bible worldwide. Additionally the campus is home to the almost complete 155,000 square foot Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, hosting approximately 17,000 works of art from Europe, the United States, and Latin America. The campus also boasts one of the largest student dormitories in the United States, Jester Dormitory. Other research facilities of the University include: *Perry-Castañeda Library [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/pcl/about.html] *McDonald Observatory [http://www.as.utexas.edu/mcdonald/mcdonald.html] *Marine Science Institute at Port Aransas [http://www.utmsi.utexas.edu/] *J. J. Pickle Research Center and Applied Research Laboratories [http://www.arlut.utexas.edu/] *Center for Space Research [http://www.csr.utexas.edu/] *Innovation, Creativity & Capital (IC²) Institute [http://www.ic2.org/index.php] *Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory [http://www.utexas.edu/research/pasp/]. The University operates a public radio station, KUT [http://www.kut.org]. KUT provides local FM broadcasts as well as live streaming audio over the Internet. === The Main Building === The University of Texas at Austin’s main campus covers more than 350 acres. The 307-foot-tall University of Texas Tower is the university’s most distinguished landmark. In addition, the university operates the J. J. Pickle Research Campus, the Brackenridge tract and the Montopolis Research Center, all in the Austin area. One of the University's most visible features is its Main Building [http://www.utexas.edu/tours/mainbuilding/], including a 307-foot tower designed by Paul Philippe Cret, also the designer of the university's master plan. Completed in 1937, the main building located in the middle of campus and gracing Austin's downtown skyline. The tower usually appears illuminated in white light in the evening, but is lit orange for various occasions, including athletic victories and academic accomplishments, such as commencement. The tower is darkened for solemn occasions. [http://www.utexas.edu/opa/pubs/oncampus/02oc_issues/oc020129/oc_tower.html] At the top of the tower is a carillon of 56 bells, the largest in Texas. Songs are played every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 12:50 p.m. by resident carilloneur Tom Anderson, in addition to the usual pealing of Westminster Quarters every quarter hour. Following the Whitman incident, the observation deck was closed until 1968, and then closed again in 1975 following a series of suicide jumps during the 1970s. In 1998, after installation of security and safety precautions, the tower observation deck reopened to the public. It is surrounded by a protective metal grid to impede jumpers, and is only primarily on the weekends when the offices in the tower are not open.[http://www.utexas.edu/student/txunion/ae/towertours/index.php?tours=schedule] Visitors must pass through a metal detector and are accompanied by police while on the observation deck. === Student publications and media === Student-produced media include [http://www.dailytexanonline.com/ ''The Daily Texan''], the most award-winning college newspaper in the United States, ''The Texas Travesty'', the college humor publication with the largest circulation in the United States, ''KVR-TV'', the only FCC-licensed student-managed television station in the country, the [http://www.tsp.utexas.edu/cactus/ Cactus Yearbook], Study Break Magazine and [http://www.kvrx.org/ KVRX], one of the few completely student-run college radio stations in the US. === Endowment === The University receives income from an endowment known as the Permanent University Fund. With $6.95 billion (US) in assets as of May 31, 2003, UT's endowment is the fourth largest of U.S. universities (after Harvard University, Stanford University and Yale University). However, this money is spread throughout the University of Texas System, and one-third of the income goes by law to the Texas A&M University System. At one time, the PUF was the chief source of income for Texas's two university's systems, but today its revenues account for less than 10 percent of the universities' annual budget, challenging the university to increase sponsored research and private donations. Other Texas public universities outside these two systems, notably the University of Houston and Texas Tech University, are prohibited by law from sharing in the income from this endowment. == High-tech growth and film in Austin == The University has been helpful in providing people for the high tech growth of Austin, Texas, the capital city located in the heart of Central Texas. Michael Dell, former student and current Chairman of the Board of Dell Inc., kept his successful company, that he started out of his dorm room, in Austin, keeping the city and the university at the forefront of technology. The University also includes a highly recognized Radio, Television, and Film (RTF) department and, partly because of this, Austin has been the location of a number of movies, including Secondhand Lions, Waking Life, Spy Kids, Dazed and Confused (movie), Office Space, The Life of David Gale, and Slacker. Austin has spawned several well-known directors, including Robert Rodriguez (an RTF alumnus), Richard Linklater, and Wes Anderson. Austin hosts the annual Austin Film Festival and the South by Southwest Festival, both of which draw diverse films from all over the world. Lately Austin's film industry has been rapidly growing, and in 2004 was named #1 in Moviemaker Magazine's annual "Top 10 Cities for Moviemakers." The RTF department has also begun a private production company called Burnt Orange Productions, seeking to use the talents of upper division and graduate RTF students in shooting independent feature films for distribution. == Athletics == The University of Texas offers a wide variety of varsity and intramural sports programs. Due to the breadth of sports offered and the quality of the programs, Texas was selected as "America's Best Sports College" in a 2002 analysis performed by Sports Illustrated. ===Varsity Sports=== Men's and Women's athletics teams at the University of Texas are nicknamed the Longhorns. The name derives from the Texas longhorn cattle breed that featured prominently in Texas history. A charter member of the Southwest Conference until its dissolution in 1996, Texas now competes in the Big Twelve Conference (South Division) of the NCAA's Division I-A. The school's colors are Orange (color)#Variations of the colour orange and white, and its alma mater is "The Eyes of Texas." [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/print/EE/xee1.html]. At football games, students frequently sing ''Texas Fight'', the University's fight song. The mascot is a Texas longhorn named Bevo (mascot). [[Image:1970_SI_cover_Texas_Slaughters_Arkansas.jpg|right|thumb|200px|December, 1970 Sports Illustrated cover showing Longhorn fullback James "Woo-Woo" Worster running against Arkansas]] The University has traditionally been considered a college football powerhouse. During the period from 1936 to 2004, the team finished the season in the top ten 23 times, or one-third of the time, according to the Associated Press Poll. The team experienced its greatest success when it was coached by Darrell Royal, and under Coach Royal it won three National Championships, in 1963, 1969, and 1970. During the late 1980s and 1990s, the team was less successful, but has recently returned to prominence, finishing in the top ten in 2001, 2002, and 2004. The team currently plays in Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium which has a capacity of over 80,000. Under the current bowl system, the Longhorns played their first Bowl Championship Series game in 2005 at the Rose Bowl against the University of Michigan. The game was the first meeting between the two storied teams and the Longhorns' first trip to the Rose Bowl or a BCS game. The Longhorns defeated the Wolverines 38-37. Three Longhorns (Cedric Benson, Derrick Johnson, and Bo Scaife) were selected in the 2005 NFL Draft. In recent years the men's basketball team has gained prominence. In 2003, the basketball team advanced to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Final Four round, and in 2004 advanced to the March Madness round. The women's basketball team has long been a national power, especially during the late 1980s and through the 1990s. The University's baseball team is one of the best in the nation. It won the College World Series in 1949, 1950, 1970, 1983, and 2002. More recently they placed 3rd in 2003 and 2nd in 2004. It has had more years of participation in the College World Series than any other school, extending their record in 2005 College World Series to 32 appearances. The women's gymnastics team won a national title April 16, 2005 at the Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs competition, and the men's team finished second, missing out on the national title by seven-tenths of a point to Penn State. ==== Rivalries ==== The University's major rival in almost every sport is Texas A&M University, and these two universities are mentioned in each other's fight songs. Further visual evidence comes in the form of the UT Tower -- the top portion of the tower is lit burnt orange when the University wins a football game. But when the University wins against A&M, the entire tower is illuminated in orange light. The most-watched part of this rivalry is the annual football game the day after Thanksgiving each year. The rivalry has given rise to several stereotypes on both sides of the contest — Aggies are generally portrayed as ignorant and dumb, while Longhorns are portrayed as highbrow and arrogant. In that vein, Aggies like to call Longhorns "T-sips" (i.e. uppity tea sippers), and Longhorns enjoy telling "[http://images.radcity.net/5191/140717.txt Aggie jokes]", which mostly lampoon Aggies as country bumpkins. A typical Aggie joke is: ''Q: How do you keep an Aggie busy? A: Write "please turn over" on both sides of a piece of paper.'' Bud Finlayson, a paraplegic who attributes his disability to injuries received while playing football, avowed Aggie fan, and son of a UT graduate, described the rivalry in his book, ''Mustang Country'', ''"It was the country boys vs. the city slickers; the humble, hard working, hick farmers vs. the flashy, sophisticated, upper-crust snobs of society."'' [http://www.elitesoft.com/web/mustang/chap2.html] In an attempt to generate more attention for the rivalry in sports other than football, in 2004 the two schools started the Lone Star Showdown, a trial two-year program. Essentially, each time the two schools meet in a sport, the winner of the matchup gets a point. At the end of the year, the school with the most points wins the series and will receive a trophy. There is also a longstanding rivalry with the University of Oklahoma (phrase heard at football games: "What time is it?" "I don't know, but OU still sucks!" and "Why doesn't Texas fall into the ocean?" "Cause OU sucks!"). In recent years, this rivalry has taken on added significance, since both football programs have been highly ranked, and compete in the same division of the Big 12. The football game between University of Texas and Oklahoma is known as the "Red River Shootout" and is held annually in Dallas, Texas at the Cotton Bowl (stadium). The rivalry is so intense that many textbooks authored by UT professors include references to UT beating OU. Many other schools consider UT among their biggest rivals. This list includes Baylor University (located just up Interstate 35 from UT), Texas Tech University (a large state sponsored school that does not receive the same level of attention as UT and Texas A&M), the University of Houston, and the University of Arkansas. This last rivalry may be attributed to their long tenure as the two eponymous state schools of the former Southwest Conference, or to the 1969 game between the two, which decided the national championship in favor of the Longhorns. ===Intramural Sports=== UT offers a large number of intramural sports opportunities. Some of these teams compete with other university clubs. The women's volleyball club won National Championship honors at the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association Collegiate Volleyball Sport Club Championships April 14 - April 16, 2005 in Kansas City, Missouri. === Athletic facilities === Major sporting facilities and their main use are: *Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium - football *Frank Erwin Center[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=124] - basketball *Disch-Falk Field[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=125] - baseball *Mike A. Myers Stadium[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=126] - soccer *Red and Charline McCombs Field[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=127] - softball *Gregory Gymnasium[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=128] - volleyball *Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=129] - swimming and diving *Penick-Allison Tennis Center[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=130] - tennis *Texas Rowing Center[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=131] - rowing In addition, the University of Texas has numerous practice and training facilities, as well as intramural facilities. == Notable alumni == ===Athletics=== *Cedric Benson, NFL running back *Frank Broyles, athletic director for the University of Arkansas *Earl Campbell, NFL Hall-of-Fame Running Back *Roger Clemens, MLB pitcher *T.J. Ford, NCAA Basketball National Player of the Year, 2003 *Priest Holmes, NFL Running Back *Tex Hughson, MLB pitcher *Derrick Johnson, NFL Linebacker *Tom Landry, former Dallas Cowboys head coach *Dusty Mangum, kicked winning field goal in 2005 Rose Bowl *Spike Owen, MLB shortstop *Bo Scaife, NFL tight end *Dan Smith (athlete), former Olympian, NFL player and stuntman *Huston Street, MLB Pitcher (Oakland Athletics) *James Street, Former UT quarterback. Won national title in 1969 *Mike Williams (football player), NFL player (Buffalo Bills) *Ricky Williams, Heisman Trophy Winner and NFL Running Back *Roy Williams, NFL Wide Receiver ===Arts and media=== *Wes Anderson, filmmaker *Steve Barton, actor *Paul Begala, ''Crossfire (TV series)'' co-host and former Clinton advisor *Berkeley Breathed, cartoonist, creator of ''Bloom County'' *J.M. Coetzee, Nobel Laureate for Literature *Walter Cronkite, World War II war correspondent and Columbia Broadcasting System anchor *Kinky Friedman, author, candidate for Governor *Richard Garriott, creator of the video game series, ''Ultima'' *Peri Gilpin, actress, most notably on ''Frasier'' *Marcia Gay Harden, Oscar-winning actress *Janis Joplin, musician *Richard Linklater, filmmaker *Alan Lomax, musicologist and folklorist, son of John Avery Lomax. *John Avery Lomax, pioneering musicologist and folklorist *Tim McCanlies, filmmaker *Matthew McConaughey, actor *Willie Morris, former ''Harper's Magazine'' editor and noted author *Bill Moyers, author, journalist, and press secretary for Lyndon Johnson *Betty Nguyen, CNN anchor *Robert Rodriguez, Mexican American filmmaker *Thomas Schlamme, television producer *Michelle Shocked, musician *Bruce Sterling, science fiction author *Eli Wallach, method actor, the "Ugly" from ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' *Owen Wilson, actor *Renée Zellweger, Oscar-winning actress ===Business=== *William Frank Buckley, Sr., oilman and father of conservative William F. Buckley, Jr. *Michael Dell, founder of the computer company Dell, Inc. *David Geffen, record executive *Tom Hicks, owner of the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers *Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest Airlines *Robert McGehee, CEO of Progress Energy, a Fortune 1000 company *Thomas Ryan, CEO of Service Corporation International, a Fortune 1000 company *John Wilder, CEO of TXU Corporation, a Fortune 1000 company ===Technology=== *Douglas J. Cardinal, architect *Beatrice Tinsley, astronomer ===Law, Politics, & Government=== *Ben Barnes, former Texas Speaker of the House (1965-1969) and Lieutenant Governor (1969-1973) *Dan Bartlett, White House communications director for George W. Bush *Lloyd Bentsen, U.S. Representative (1948-1955), U.S. Senator (1970-1992) and Secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton Administration *Jeb Bush, Governor (1999-present) of Florida *Jenna Bush, daughter of President of the United States George W. Bush *Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States *Liz Carpenter, press secretary for Lady Bird Johnson *Tom C. Clark, former U.S. Attorney General *Lloyd Doggett, member of the U.S. House of Representatives *Donald Evans, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce under George W. Bush *Charlie Gonzalez, member of the U.S. House of Representatives *Jeb Hensarling, member of the U.S. House of Representatives *Ruben E. Hinojosa, member of the U.S. House of Representatives *Kay Bailey Hutchison, current U.S. Senator from Texas *Admiral Bobby Inman, former director of the National Security Agency *Lady Bird Johnson, First Lady *Barbara Jordan, the first black woman from a Southern state to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives *Scott McClellan, White House Press Secretary for George W. Bush *Ann Richards, former Governor of Texas *Fernando Belaunde Terry, former president of Peru *Jim Turner (Congressman), member of the U.S. House of Representatives *Ralph Yarborough, U.S. Senator from Texas (1957-1971) == See also == *Bevo (mascot) - The name of the UT mascot *The Eyes of Texas - The school song *Hook 'em Horns - The school hand signal *Texas Fight - The school fight song *Texas Hex - school tradition *Texas House Bill 588 *Texas Longhorn - The school nickname *Smokey the cannon - Fired in celebration on game day at the moment of kickoff and after UT scores == External links == *[http://www.utexas.edu/ The University of Texas at Austin] *[http://www.utexas.edu/opa/pubs/facts/research.php Office of Public Affairs: UT Facts] *[http://www.utexas.edu/dept/ Colleges and Academic Units] *[http://www.utexas.edu/tours/mainbuilding/ The Main Building] *[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=1582 The University of Texas campus information] *[http://lhb.music.utexas.edu/history/songs_index.html "History of School and Fight Songs"] *[http://www.texassports.com/ Athletics] *[http://www.texasexes.org/ ''Texas Exes'' alumni association] *[http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/permanent/gutenberg/ The Gutenberg Bible at the Ransom Center] *[http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/online/woodstein/ Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's Watergate papers at the Ransom Center] *[http://www.as.utexas.edu/mcdonald/mcdonald.html McDonald Observatory] *[http://www.kut.org/ KUT, the University of Texas public radio station] *[http://www.kvrnews.com KVR News 9, student broadcast news program] *[http://www.dailytexanonline.com ''The Daily Texan'' student newspaper] *[http://www.kvrx.org KVRX 91.7 FM, Student Radio for the University of Texas] University of Texas at Austin Universities and colleges in Texas Association of American Universities Space-grant universities Public universities Austin, Texas
* Talk:University of Texas at Austin/Old 1 == OU/A&M == I'm sure most folks who'd be interested in this page are former Longhorns, BUT, as a native Texan and 4th generation Longhorn, I take issue with the way the page portrays the OU-UT rivalry as "the biggest." It's definitely strong, but I think the rivalry -- the pure rivalry -- is much bigger between UT and A&M. I think the EVENT of the UT-OU football game is bigger because it's surrounded by the state fair, but the rivalry itself is not. I for one would like to see it changed in the text. Anybody else with thoughts? User:Katefan0 16:41, Dec 8, 2004 (UTC) : Speaking as a 2003 graduate, I think the UT-A&M rivalry has flagged a little since after the bonfire disaster. Beating OU seems to be a much bigger deal now. --User:Grouse 21:26, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC) ::I'm a 2001 graduate, fairly soon after the Bonfire when arguably emotions were even more charged. One year out from the disaster, yeah, I'd say it was less a concern. But not after that. User:Katefan0 01:27, Dec 9, 2004 (UTC) I graduated in 1991. The OU game has meant more recently, but an article like this needs to consider the long haul. Considering everything from the way the UT/atm fight songs mention each other, to the fact that they are each others oldest rivals, to the fact that they still close their regular seasons against each other, there is no doubt that atm is the bigger rivalry for UT. User:Johntex 01:20, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC) **Let's not forget that not only are they mentioned in each others' fight songs, when UT wins a football game, the top of the tower gets lit burnt orange. But when UT beats A&M at football, the entire tower gets illuminated. Not so for OU. User:Katefan0 16:28, Jan 3, 2005 (UTC) : Good point Katefan0. Another example would be mascot kidnappings. I've never heard of OU kidnapping or branding Bevo. Off the sports field, UT/atm are also in a very real competition for state funding. They are also competing for high school students in a way that an out of state school is not. We should also mention the new Long Star Rivalry series that UT/atm have implemented to carry the great rivalry into other sports. User:Johntex 17:05, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC) *I have found strong evidence to change the article to reflect that the Aggies are UT's biggest rival: A Sports Illustrated poll on "State's biggest sports rivalry"[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/features/si50/states/texas/] shows: :Texas-Texas A&M :56% :Texas-Oklahoma :15% :Cowboys-Texans :7% Also, if you Google "UT" +"biggest rival" you get more hits with "A&M" than "OU". User:Johntex 21:02, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC) ** An unscientific web poll is "strong evidence"? I don't think a "Googlefight" is a good arbiter of factual data either. Your earlier arguments were ''much'' more convincing. That said, I'm not going to revert this article. --User:Grouse 21:26, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC) ***I agree that this poll isn't exactly the most scientific, but it is interesting as supplementary evidence to our earlier points. I think the earlier discussion was convincing enough. And if not we can always RFC or something. Don't want to get too many feathers ruffled. User:Katefan0 21:36, Feb 17, 2005 (UTC) ****It is a difficult topic because it is centered around people's opinions. While a web poll is not perfectly scientific evidence, it does go some way to show prevaling opinion. Nowhere on UT's website is it going to say "Our biggest rival is ___" The closest thing might be the fact that they chose to create a special "rivalry series" with atm, not ou. Here are two more tidbits: (1) The atm rivalry goes back longer. (2) If you start-up EA Sports NCAA football, play as Texas, and select "Rivalry Game", the default comes up that you are playing against atm. The other options you can select are ou, Baylor, and Texas Tech. This is true in the 2004 and 2005 Xbox versions, which I have selflessly researched to contribute to this article. I'm not claiming this is scientific, just more evidence I forgot to mention earlier. User:Johntex 21:52, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC) ***** "The closest thing might be the fact that they chose to create a special "rivalry series" with atm, not ou." That is the most persuasive argument so far in my opinion. --User:Grouse 00:50, 18 Feb 2005 (UTC) == Most prestigious in Texas? == I know we're all proud of UT but I don't think it technically deserves that title, as Rice is consistently ranked higher than UT in almost all nationwide college reviews. The old "arguably the most prestigious" is probably better. There was a survey done out of the UK recently that rated UT tops in Texas. I'll try to find the reference. I would also be OK with switching to "arguably..." User:Johntex 01:18, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC) * The UK survey was probably basing its judgement on research sort of stuff... But I agree that by normal standards of "prestige," Rice beats UT by a long shot. * Despite Rice's distinguished research output I don't think it matches the breadth or depth of UT's. But there is no argument that Rice is ''much'' harder to get into than UT. Why not explain these nuances instead of saying "arguably" which doesn't really tell much to people who aren't already familiar with these institutions? --User:Grouse 17:40, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC) * In that case, we should just leave out "prestige" altogether and focus on describing the university. == anon changes == mm. An anon just made a boatload of changes, both substantive and structural, to the article. Some of it I agree with, some of it not so much. (Don't think we need a separate category for "student publications" given that it's barely a pp. It makes the article look choppy.) Also he or she changed back "the most prestigious" to "one of the most prestigious." As I recall there was signifciant discussion here about that. Anybody feel like it justifies a revert? I wish there was a prohibition against anon editing. User:Katefan0 21:10, Mar 15, 2005 (UTC) :I think the anon changes should be reviewed by the community and some kept. The most prestigious comment definitely needs to be changed until there is a consensus from the community. - User:Scm83x 02:33, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC) ::I started poking around a little bit. I think most folks would agree that in terms of prestige, Rice wins. I liked Grouse's suggestion up above, but I think it might be difficult to do that in a precise way without devolving into too much blah blah blah. I looked at US News's 2005 rankings of all national universities -- Rice ranks #17, UT Austin ranks #46, and A&M ranks #62 [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/natudoc/tier1/t1natudoc_brief.php]. Maybe the easiest thing to do would be: "UT is the most prestigious public school in Texas." That eliminates talk about Rice; what do you think? Or maybe "UT is one of the most prestigious schools in Texas, behind only the private Rice University" or somesuch. User:Katefan0 22:38, Mar 17, 2005 (UTC) ::: Sure, but with [http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,157854,00.jpg rankings based on research] UT is #15 and Rice doesn't even make the top 50. As an academic I would generally consider a faculty position at UT more desirable than one at Rice (exceptions for certain fields, but not for mine). I agree that an undergraduate education from Rice is certainly considered more prestigious than one from UT but I do not think that is equivalent to the prestige of the whole university. I'm sure it's possible to sum all this up in a well-written sentence for the main page, but it's 1 a.m. here and I think I'll go to bed instead. ;) --User:Grouse 00:59, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC) ::::Keep in mind that the rankings I referenced are holistic -- they take into account competition, research, student faculty ratio and a host of other things. So, I think you are slicing hairs too finely here. Also, where is the line drawn? Do we have a sentence that says "Texas Tech is widely recognized to have a better womens' basketball program, but Texas is more competitive?" That said, I'd still be interested in seeing how you propose to craft some sort of inclusive sentence. User:Katefan0 01:40, Mar 18, 2005 (UTC) :::::"One of the most prestigious" is far better than "most prestigious." As the discussions on this board have demonstrated, "most prestigious" is a contentious claim that we shouldn't be touting as an objective fact. But I bet we can all agree to "one of the most prestigious". :::::: The previous comment is by User:130.58.91.246. Please Wikipedia:Sign_your_posts_on_talk_pages. "One of the most prestigious" is a Wikipedia:Avoid_peacock_terms which is only noncontroversial because it has almost no meaning. While I'm aware of several metrics and rankings that would make the university the most prestigious public university in Texas, I'm not aware of any that would counteract that. Would you like to share any with us? In any case, one might say that we should then avoid claims of prestige altogether and just stick to listing these metrics. I'm not convinced that's a bad idea. --User:Grouse 01:40, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC) P.S. UT and A&M admissions statistics are available: [http://www.utexas.edu/academic/oir/statistical_handbook/04-05/students/s22/ here] and [http://www.tamu.edu/oisp/factbook/Enrollment/enrollment7.htm here] == Poll on University Naming Conventions == A University of Maryland, College Park/Vote has been created to assess consensus with respect to university naming conventions, specifically regarding the usage of terms like "University of Texas" vs. "University of Texas at Austin". The poll addresses this issue both in the specific case of the "University of Maryland" and proposes an amendment to Wikipedia:Naming conventions which could impact a large number of additional pages, including this one. User:Dragons flight 17:37, Mar 27, 2005 (UTC) == Laws == Actually, there are laws affecting building height... I'm not sure that they say no building can be taller than the capitol, but there ARE height laws for certain corridors of the city -- i.e., they don't want the sightlines of the capitol and UT tower to be obscured. From I-35, for instance. User:Katefan0 22:39, Mar 29, 2005 (UTC) **Here's a reprint of an AAS article that discusses the two issues very briefly [http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=193452]. User:Katefan0 22:42, Mar 29, 2005 (UTC) *** Hi Katefan. Good article. I am well aware of the Capitol View Corridor statutes but the part I removed said that no building may be taller than the capitol. I knew that the Frost Bank building was taller so I don't think that is correct. According to that article so is One American Center. And I believe the view corridors are only for the capitol as well, not the tower. The Capitol View Corridor statutes are in [http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/GV/content/htm/gv.011.00.003151.00.htm Texas Gov't Code Ch. 3151]. --User:Grouse 08:01, 30 Mar 2005 (UTC) ***And I am well aware of what information you removed. My point, perhaps too subtly made, was that some of what you deleted can be salvaged by repairing it with correct information. User:Katefan0 16:16, Mar 30, 2005 (UTC) **** I am afraid your point is still too subtle for me. What information would you have included here? If there were actually a law that actually prevented the tower sightlines from being obscured, then I agree that would be relevant information. But while it is easy to find information about the law that prevents the ''capitol'' sightlines from being obscured, I can find nothing about any law that does the same for the tower. I am happy to be proven wrong. --User:Grouse 10:30, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC) *****Whoops, sorry. I just noticed that you had responded on this earlier discussion. I think what I was mistaking is that the capitol sightlines, while not extending to the tower, nevertheless end up protecting its sightlines too because the two are in such close proximity and sort of along the same plane of view. · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 16:19, May 2, 2005 (UTC) ==Research== ''"No public or private university in the Southwest United States can match the breadth and quality of the university's research endeavors"'' This ''might'' be true... but it's phrased like an admissions pamphlet, not an encyclopedia article. It would make sense to list facts about the "university's research endeavors," but a statement like this really has no place. -- User:130.58.91.246 (unsigned) == Recent deletion of material regarding status, rankings, etc. == User:H2O last night deleted most of the information in the article referencing UT's academic rankings, status among other colleges, etc., citing Wikipedia:Avoid academic boosterism. Which are good standards. But I believe the information that was removed from the article is factually accurate and can be backed up by sourcing. So I reverted those edits. Grouse, since most of those additions were yours, can you dig up some references? I've asked H2O to come to the talk page and discuss his changes. · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 15:16, May 7, 2005 (UTC) :I don't believe that I removed anything of relevance. I left most of the ranking info in the article but moved it to the body of the article where it belongs. However, it needs to be factually verified. This article is oozing stereotypical UT superiority and snootiness. Please for crying out loud, tone it down!! I can't read this article without gagging. Is it necessary to brag incessantly about your school's achievements? Wikipedia:Avoid peacock terms. Why not just supply facts and let them speak for themselves? If they are verifiable, then supply them in a neutral fashion. It is irrelevant what Playboy thinks of the girls at UT (at least in this article). What did UT have to do with the success of Dell? Michael Dell didn't even bother to finish his degree. As far as the UT Longhorn football team, from the years 1994 - 2003, in 1994 UT finished ranked 32, '95- 15, '96- 22, '97- 76!, '98- 14, '99- 15, 2000- 14, 2003- 23 only 2001-2002 finished in top ten. This is an encyclopedia article, not a marketing brochure. There needs to be a quality article on UT, as it is no doubt a significant university, but as it stands now, it is just turning people off and reinforcing the stereotype. User:H2O 15:50, 7 May 2005 (UTC) ::I don't think this article turns people off. But as you pointed out, it's not a marketing brochure, so why would anyone care if it did?--User:Grouse 18:40, 9 May 2005 (UTC) :::"Reinforcing the stereotype?" IMO, the only people who think there is a stereotype are those with chips on their shoulders about UT. None of the information in the article is inaccurate, unsourced or otherwise inappropriate. Why shouldn't it remain? What else would you balance it with? "UT's anthropology program is ranked last of all public universities?" "Some people think UT grads are arrogant?" What's the point in adding information like that? I don't see any gaping differences in the way the UT page is treated, versus any other university's page here on Wikipedia. · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 19:20, May 9, 2005 (UTC) :A few more thoughts... By the way I don't have any personal axe to grind against UT itself, although on occasion I have come across the condescending attitude I mentioned earlier and I personally don't care for it. I more or less came across this article when I found myself collaborating with some other Texans on some topics in which I found we had some common interests. Every now and then I would read the article, and it seemed to be getting worse as time went on. I knew when I made the edits, it would stir things up, but I really think this article needs help, maybe not mine, but I really think UT deserves a better article than this. I personally would be more interested in hearing more about the history of the University, what makes it unique, etc, instead of the constant, "we're bigger, better, we have more money, our girls are prettier, our football team wins more games, and by the way, OU sucks." What place does THAT have in an encyclopedia?! User:H2O 00:12, 9 May 2005 (UTC) Not to sling mud, but if you take a quick look at the Texas A&M University page, there is just as much "boasting and bragging" as some purport there to be on this page. I think that most university pages will try to cast their schools in a positive light. I believe the page is encyclopedic. An admissions brochure certainly would not include information about the Tower shooting rampage of the 60s. The simple fact is that most all of the "bragging" information on the page can be verified and measured according to accepted standards and practices. As for the OU references, it is a part of the school's traditions and should be included. I think that equal references can be included in the OU article and should be, because it is a part of their traditions. Also, please discuss changes on the talk page before deleting things wholesale. - User:Scm83x 04:28, 9 May 2005 (UTC) :My argument isn't so much with the information as with the style (or lack thereof) in which it is presented. It's kind of like "we're better than you - let us rub your nose in it". I haven't really looked at the A&M page, but if what you say is true, then it ought to be fixed as well. User:H2O 16:10, 9 May 2005 (UTC) :I did just now skim over the A&M article and after reading the first paragraph wanted to barf. I guess I'll go over and stir up the Aggies now. I must say it has been nice chatting and sipping T with you. Must remember to take my mask and cape. User:H2O 16:16, 9 May 2005 (UTC) ::Well, we at least agree on one thing: the A&M page also makes me want to vomit. ;) Don't forget to take your chip with you. · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 19:20, May 9, 2005 (UTC) :::Ok, I'm back now - I'll deal with the Aggies later. Maybe after we get UT's article straightened out we can go gang up on them. Honestly, Katefan0, don't you think your alma mater deserves to have more written about its history than in 1839 somebody dreamed up this wonderful school and then 130 years later some idiot shot a bunch of people (he probably had a REAL chip on his shoulder). The ranking info has its place but can't it be put in the body of the article and not featured so prominently and "in your face" as the article Wikipedia:Avoid academic boosterism suggests? You said yourself that you agree with those principles. User:H2O 00:45, 10 May 2005 (UTC) :::I think the current article is a fine thumbnail. There's always room to improve articles -- I personally think every article can stand improvement. But there's a point of diminishing returns -- too much information and the article gets too long. An encyclopedia article isn't an infodump of every statistic or fact available, it's a thumbnail representation of an issue or subject. Rankings and status are integral to universities' existence and they in large part define public perception as well so I don't think it's at all inappropriate to include that information in the introduction (as seems to be standard practice for most articles here). I fail to see how that is "in your face" -- unless the reader already has made up their mind on the topic (see chip). I said the page had good guidelines, but I never said I agreed with it in its entirety (in fact this is one of the places where I disagree). Personally, I don't think there's anything inappropriate in the information that's presented on rankings etc. · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 15:59, May 10, 2005 (UTC) :I established the selectiveness of UT and A&M by looking at their admissions statistics, and there are links to said statistics elsewhere on this talk page, added during a previous discussion. I am not about to check every other public university in Texas, since it is my experience that UT and A&M are the only ones that reject large numbers. If you have any counterexamples, please post them here. Both general university rankings, and research-based rankings are listed elsewhere in this talk page. The Carnegie Foundation has a widely used classification of universities, and here are the listing sfor [http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/Classification/CIHE2000/PartIfiles/DRU-EXT.htm Doctoral/Research Universities—Extensive] in case you would like to compare with peer institutions. In the future, please read through talk pages and see what has already been discussed before making wholesale deletions. Thank you, --User:Grouse 18:36, 9 May 2005 (UTC) ::What are wholesale deletions? You mean like "in bulk"? I used to sell wholesale irrigation equipment. I always try to "be bold" in my edits. If people don't like them, they can always revert. I am sorry if I offended anyone or stepped on anyone's turf, but I really do think this article needs work. In my opinion, school rankings and "prestige" deserve much less prominence than they are given. My own school (Texas Tech) chancellor recently spent $450,000 on a marketing campaign for some Austin firm to improve our image. What an idiot! He should have spent that money on improving the quality of education at our school. User:H2O 00:45, 10 May 2005 (UTC) :::Yes. H2O, you *should* be bold. But as the howto page says, Wikipedia:Be bold "but don't be reckless." As that page points out, if you are making a change that you think might be controversial, then you should read the talk page to see if it has already been discussed. A lot of the prestige stuff had been discussed on the talk page before. The article definitely needs work and substantive additions, and I hope you can help. Thanks for the spelling fix. --User:Grouse 15:10, 10 May 2005 (UTC) ::::Point taken. I will try to be a little more "sensitive" in the future. I will say this -- I had skimmed (but not thoroughly read) the talk page earlier, and I saw that an anonymous poster had questioned the line about the "quality and breadth" of the research and had basically been told that since he / she was anonymous that their opinion didn't matter. I disagree, and I do believe that particular line goes way over the top. Personally I don't know what I can add, but I will make suggestions to make this article more readable for the general public. There really ought to be something about the history of the school in its opening paragraph, and I still think the ranking info should be toned down and moved to the body of the article. User:H2O 15:54, 10 May 2005 (UTC) == Reverted anon's changes == An anon just changed the text of the intro to read "Recently has consistently been ranked the top public university...." and gave this as a justification in his edit summary: (UT - Consistently ranked best public university in Texas 'recently'. Texas A&M University was ranked higher in 1997-1999 and tied in 2000.) Personally, I think the past five years of being ranked tops is enough to just say is consistently ranked, without needing "recently." Also, if we're going to start breaking it down by year, what were the rankings pre-1997? Should we also say "and before 1997 was ranked...?" This is unnecessary detail IMO. And if the anon wishes to press his case, I'd like to see what source he is using. · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 20:08, May 9, 2005 (UTC) == An H2O addition == ''University of Texas fans are known as "T-sippers" to those from other schools, especially those from Texas A&M. Bud Finlayson described the rivalry in his book, Mustang Country, "It was the country boys vs. the city slickers; the humble, hard working, hick farmers vs. the flashy, sophisticated, upper-crust snobs of society."[15]'' I don't know that this really needs to be included in the article, but if it is kept, it needs some balance. How about some Aggie stereotypes? Maybe a section on [http://images.radcity.net/5191/140717.txt Aggie Jokes]? Thoughts? · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 17:40, May 12, 2005 (UTC) :Well, first of all it's incorrect on two accounts. Only A&M refers to UT in that manner, I don't know what 'other schools' the original writer had in mind. The correct 'derogatory' term is "T-Sip"...never heard an Aggie say "T-Sipper", although it is possible that it was used more prominently when the author of the cited passage was roaming around in the 60's. If you decide to keep it, my opinion would be to find a better (updated) source regarding the term in question. As you suggest Katefan, Aggie jokes would be a good balance if you decide to leave H20's addition in. ::H2O, you added in this: '' This was likely due in response to the popularity of Aggie jokes which portrays A&M fans as of low intelligence. Many Aggie jokes contain references to both.'' This first sentence is pure speculation -- is it your own or can you source it? If not it should probably be removed and the reference to Aggie jokes added in another way. Also, my personal experience with Aggie jokes is that they poke fun at Aggies. I don't think I've ever seen an Aggie joke that references a UT stereotype. · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 15:15, May 13, 2005 (UTC) *I went ahead and changed the paragraph a bit, took out that speculation and added in a link to some Aggie jokes as well as an example of an Aggie joke. See what you think. Thanks · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 15:36, May 13, 2005 (UTC) :::I'm a little older and I remember reading a book of Aggie jokes years ago that had many references to "T-sippers", but it appears that term has mostly gone the way of "hep cat" and other obsolete slang and is now just "T-sip". There are a few jokes online that reference both, one of which I found is pretty tasteless. As a Christian, I can't endorse such a joke but if someone did google search on "T-sipper aggie joke", they might find it and then they too could agree that it's pretty bad. User:H2O 23:01, 13 May 2005 (UTC)
Universities and colleges in Texas
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University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin, often called UT or Texas, is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. It is consistently College and university rankings as the best public university in the state and as one of the best public universities in the nation (considered a Public Ivy). Although it is the most selective public university in Texas, it still has the List of largest US universities by enrollment single-campus student enrollment in the nation, with nearly 50,000 undergraduates and graduate students attending. No public or private university in the Southwest United States can match the breadth and quality of the university's research endeavors, or its United States dollar195 million (as of 2001) in annual federal research funding. It has also been ranked as one of the best research universities in the world. The school has many top academic and professional programs, including national top ten programs in engineering, computer science, Business school, Law school, pharmacy and public affairs, among many others. Its astronomy department administers the McDonald Observatory located in the [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/DD/rjd3.html Davis Mountains] of West Texas. == History == The University of Texas was originally conceived in 1839, when the Congress of the Republic of Texas set aside land for a "university of the first class" in the new state capital, Austin, Texas . At first located on the legendary 40 acres (160,000 m²) then known as ''College Hill'', the University has since expanded, the term 40 Acres is still used to refer to the central campus. On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman barricaded himself in the observation deck of the tower of the Main Building with a sniper rifle and other weapons, killed 14 Austin residents, and wounded more. The observation deck was closed until 1968, and then closed again in 1975 following a series of suicide jumps during the 1970s. The observation deck has been reopened since 2000 for guided tours only. == Campus == The University encompasses about 350 acres (1.4 km²) on its main campus adjacent to downtown Austin and about 850 acres (3.4 km²) overall. The University is home to the LBJ Presidential Library [http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/] and the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center [http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/home.html]. The Ransom Center's holdings include one of only 21 remaining complete copies of the Gutenberg Bible worldwide. Additionally the campus is home to the almost complete 155,000 square foot Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, hosting approximately 17,000 works of art from Europe, the United States, and Latin America. The campus also boasts one of the largest student dormitories in the United States, Jester Dormitory. Other research facilities of the University include: *Perry-Castañeda Library [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/pcl/about.html] *McDonald Observatory [http://www.as.utexas.edu/mcdonald/mcdonald.html] *Marine Science Institute at Port Aransas [http://www.utmsi.utexas.edu/] *J. J. Pickle Research Center and Applied Research Laboratories [http://www.arlut.utexas.edu/] *Center for Space Research [http://www.csr.utexas.edu/] *Innovation, Creativity & Capital (IC²) Institute [http://www.ic2.org/index.php] *Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory [http://www.utexas.edu/research/pasp/]. The University operates a public radio station, KUT [http://www.kut.org]. KUT provides local FM broadcasts as well as live streaming audio over the Internet. === The Main Building === The University of Texas at Austin’s main campus covers more than 350 acres. The 307-foot-tall University of Texas Tower is the university’s most distinguished landmark. In addition, the university operates the J. J. Pickle Research Campus, the Brackenridge tract and the Montopolis Research Center, all in the Austin area. One of the University's most visible features is its Main Building [http://www.utexas.edu/tours/mainbuilding/], including a 307-foot tower designed by Paul Philippe Cret, also the designer of the university's master plan. Completed in 1937, the main building located in the middle of campus and gracing Austin's downtown skyline. The tower usually appears illuminated in white light in the evening, but is lit orange for various occasions, including athletic victories and academic accomplishments, such as commencement. The tower is darkened for solemn occasions. [http://www.utexas.edu/opa/pubs/oncampus/02oc_issues/oc020129/oc_tower.html] At the top of the tower is a carillon of 56 bells, the largest in Texas. Songs are played every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 12:50 p.m. by resident carilloneur Tom Anderson, in addition to the usual pealing of Westminster Quarters every quarter hour. Following the Whitman incident, the observation deck was closed until 1968, and then closed again in 1975 following a series of suicide jumps during the 1970s. In 1998, after installation of security and safety precautions, the tower observation deck reopened to the public. It is surrounded by a protective metal grid to impede jumpers, and is only primarily on the weekends when the offices in the tower are not open.[http://www.utexas.edu/student/txunion/ae/towertours/index.php?tours=schedule] Visitors must pass through a metal detector and are accompanied by police while on the observation deck. === Student publications and media === Student-produced media include [http://www.dailytexanonline.com/ ''The Daily Texan''], the most award-winning college newspaper in the United States, ''The Texas Travesty'', the college humor publication with the largest circulation in the United States, ''KVR-TV'', the only FCC-licensed student-managed television station in the country, the [http://www.tsp.utexas.edu/cactus/ Cactus Yearbook], Study Break Magazine and [http://www.kvrx.org/ KVRX], one of the few completely student-run college radio stations in the US. === Endowment === The University receives income from an endowment known as the Permanent University Fund. With $6.95 billion (US) in assets as of May 31, 2003, UT's endowment is the fourth largest of U.S. universities (after Harvard University, Stanford University and Yale University). However, this money is spread throughout the University of Texas System, and one-third of the income goes by law to the Texas A&M University System. At one time, the PUF was the chief source of income for Texas's two university's systems, but today its revenues account for less than 10 percent of the universities' annual budget, challenging the university to increase sponsored research and private donations. Other Texas public universities outside these two systems, notably the University of Houston and Texas Tech University, are prohibited by law from sharing in the income from this endowment. == High-tech growth and film in Austin == The University has been helpful in providing people for the high tech growth of Austin, Texas, the capital city located in the heart of Central Texas. Michael Dell, former student and current Chairman of the Board of Dell Inc., kept his successful company, that he started out of his dorm room, in Austin, keeping the city and the university at the forefront of technology. The University also includes a highly recognized Radio, Television, and Film (RTF) department and, partly because of this, Austin has been the location of a number of movies, including Secondhand Lions, Waking Life, Spy Kids, Dazed and Confused (movie), Office Space, The Life of David Gale, and Slacker. Austin has spawned several well-known directors, including Robert Rodriguez (an RTF alumnus), Richard Linklater, and Wes Anderson. Austin hosts the annual Austin Film Festival and the South by Southwest Festival, both of which draw diverse films from all over the world. Lately Austin's film industry has been rapidly growing, and in 2004 was named #1 in Moviemaker Magazine's annual "Top 10 Cities for Moviemakers." The RTF department has also begun a private production company called Burnt Orange Productions, seeking to use the talents of upper division and graduate RTF students in shooting independent feature films for distribution. == Athletics == The University of Texas offers a wide variety of varsity and intramural sports programs. Due to the breadth of sports offered and the quality of the programs, Texas was selected as "America's Best Sports College" in a 2002 analysis performed by Sports Illustrated. ===Varsity Sports=== Men's and Women's athletics teams at the University of Texas are nicknamed the Longhorns. The name derives from the Texas longhorn cattle breed that featured prominently in Texas history. A charter member of the Southwest Conference until its dissolution in 1996, Texas now competes in the Big Twelve Conference (South Division) of the NCAA's Division I-A. The school's colors are Orange (color)#Variations of the colour orange and white, and its alma mater is "The Eyes of Texas." [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/print/EE/xee1.html]. At football games, students frequently sing ''Texas Fight'', the University's fight song. The mascot is a Texas longhorn named Bevo (mascot). [[Image:1970_SI_cover_Texas_Slaughters_Arkansas.jpg|right|thumb|200px|December, 1970 Sports Illustrated cover showing Longhorn fullback James "Woo-Woo" Worster running against Arkansas]] The University has traditionally been considered a college football powerhouse. During the period from 1936 to 2004, the team finished the season in the top ten 23 times, or one-third of the time, according to the Associated Press Poll. The team experienced its greatest success when it was coached by Darrell Royal, and under Coach Royal it won three National Championships, in 1963, 1969, and 1970. During the late 1980s and 1990s, the team was less successful, but has recently returned to prominence, finishing in the top ten in 2001, 2002, and 2004. The team currently plays in Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium which has a capacity of over 80,000. Under the current bowl system, the Longhorns played their first Bowl Championship Series game in 2005 at the Rose Bowl against the University of Michigan. The game was the first meeting between the two storied teams and the Longhorns' first trip to the Rose Bowl or a BCS game. The Longhorns defeated the Wolverines 38-37. Three Longhorns (Cedric Benson, Derrick Johnson, and Bo Scaife) were selected in the 2005 NFL Draft. In recent years the men's basketball team has gained prominence. In 2003, the basketball team advanced to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Final Four round, and in 2004 advanced to the March Madness round. The women's basketball team has long been a national power, especially during the late 1980s and through the 1990s. The University's baseball team is one of the best in the nation. It won the College World Series in 1949, 1950, 1970, 1983, and 2002. More recently they placed 3rd in 2003 and 2nd in 2004. It has had more years of participation in the College World Series than any other school, extending their record in 2005 College World Series to 32 appearances. The women's gymnastics team won a national title April 16, 2005 at the Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs competition, and the men's team finished second, missing out on the national title by seven-tenths of a point to Penn State. ==== Rivalries ==== The University's major rival in almost every sport is Texas A&M University, and these two universities are mentioned in each other's fight songs. Further visual evidence comes in the form of the UT Tower -- the top portion of the tower is lit burnt orange when the University wins a football game. But when the University wins against A&M, the entire tower is illuminated in orange light. The most-watched part of this rivalry is the annual football game the day after Thanksgiving each year. The rivalry has given rise to several stereotypes on both sides of the contest — Aggies are generally portrayed as ignorant and dumb, while Longhorns are portrayed as highbrow and arrogant. In that vein, Aggies like to call Longhorns "T-sips" (i.e. uppity tea sippers), and Longhorns enjoy telling "[http://images.radcity.net/5191/140717.txt Aggie jokes]", which mostly lampoon Aggies as country bumpkins. A typical Aggie joke is: ''Q: How do you keep an Aggie busy? A: Write "please turn over" on both sides of a piece of paper.'' Bud Finlayson, a paraplegic who attributes his disability to injuries received while playing football, avowed Aggie fan, and son of a UT graduate, described the rivalry in his book, ''Mustang Country'', ''"It was the country boys vs. the city slickers; the humble, hard working, hick farmers vs. the flashy, sophisticated, upper-crust snobs of society."'' [http://www.elitesoft.com/web/mustang/chap2.html] In an attempt to generate more attention for the rivalry in sports other than football, in 2004 the two schools started the Lone Star Showdown, a trial two-year program. Essentially, each time the two schools meet in a sport, the winner of the matchup gets a point. At the end of the year, the school with the most points wins the series and will receive a trophy. There is also a longstanding rivalry with the University of Oklahoma (phrase heard at football games: "What time is it?" "I don't know, but OU still sucks!" and "Why doesn't Texas fall into the ocean?" "Cause OU sucks!"). In recent years, this rivalry has taken on added significance, since both football programs have been highly ranked, and compete in the same division of the Big 12. The football game between University of Texas and Oklahoma is known as the "Red River Shootout" and is held annually in Dallas, Texas at the Cotton Bowl (stadium). The rivalry is so intense that many textbooks authored by UT professors include references to UT beating OU. Many other schools consider UT among their biggest rivals. This list includes Baylor University (located just up Interstate 35 from UT), Texas Tech University (a large state sponsored school that does not receive the same level of attention as UT and Texas A&M), the University of Houston, and the University of Arkansas. This last rivalry may be attributed to their long tenure as the two eponymous state schools of the former Southwest Conference, or to the 1969 game between the two, which decided the national championship in favor of the Longhorns. ===Intramural Sports=== UT offers a large number of intramural sports opportunities. Some of these teams compete with other university clubs. The women's volleyball club won National Championship honors at the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association Collegiate Volleyball Sport Club Championships April 14 - April 16, 2005 in Kansas City, Missouri. === Athletic facilities === Major sporting facilities and their main use are: *Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium - football *Frank Erwin Center[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=124] - basketball *Disch-Falk Field[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=125] - baseball *Mike A. Myers Stadium[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=126] - soccer *Red and Charline McCombs Field[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=127] - softball *Gregory Gymnasium[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=128] - volleyball *Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=129] - swimming and diving *Penick-Allison Tennis Center[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=130] - tennis *Texas Rowing Center[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=131] - rowing In addition, the University of Texas has numerous practice and training facilities, as well as intramural facilities. == Notable alumni == ===Athletics=== *Cedric Benson, NFL running back *Frank Broyles, athletic director for the University of Arkansas *Earl Campbell, NFL Hall-of-Fame Running Back *Roger Clemens, MLB pitcher *T.J. Ford, NCAA Basketball National Player of the Year, 2003 *Priest Holmes, NFL Running Back *Tex Hughson, MLB pitcher *Derrick Johnson, NFL Linebacker *Tom Landry, former Dallas Cowboys head coach *Dusty Mangum, kicked winning field goal in 2005 Rose Bowl *Spike Owen, MLB shortstop *Bo Scaife, NFL tight end *Dan Smith (athlete), former Olympian, NFL player and stuntman *Huston Street, MLB Pitcher (Oakland Athletics) *James Street, Former UT quarterback. Won national title in 1969 *Mike Williams (football player), NFL player (Buffalo Bills) *Ricky Williams, Heisman Trophy Winner and NFL Running Back *Roy Williams, NFL Wide Receiver ===Arts and media=== *Wes Anderson, filmmaker *Steve Barton, actor *Paul Begala, ''Crossfire (TV series)'' co-host and former Clinton advisor *Berkeley Breathed, cartoonist, creator of ''Bloom County'' *J.M. Coetzee, Nobel Laureate for Literature *Walter Cronkite, World War II war correspondent and Columbia Broadcasting System anchor *Kinky Friedman, author, candidate for Governor *Richard Garriott, creator of the video game series, ''Ultima'' *Peri Gilpin, actress, most notably on ''Frasier'' *Marcia Gay Harden, Oscar-winning actress *Janis Joplin, musician *Richard Linklater, filmmaker *Alan Lomax, musicologist and folklorist, son of John Avery Lomax. *John Avery Lomax, pioneering musicologist and folklorist *Tim McCanlies, filmmaker *Matthew McConaughey, actor *Willie Morris, former ''Harper's Magazine'' editor and noted author *Bill Moyers, author, journalist, and press secretary for Lyndon Johnson *Betty Nguyen, CNN anchor *Robert Rodriguez, Mexican American filmmaker *Thomas Schlamme, television producer *Michelle Shocked, musician *Bruce Sterling, science fiction author *Eli Wallach, method actor, the "Ugly" from ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' *Owen Wilson, actor *Renée Zellweger, Oscar-winning actress ===Business=== *William Frank Buckley, Sr., oilman and father of conservative William F. Buckley, Jr. *Michael Dell, founder of the computer company Dell, Inc. *David Geffen, record executive *Tom Hicks, owner of the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers *Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest Airlines *Robert McGehee, CEO of Progress Energy, a Fortune 1000 company *Thomas Ryan, CEO of Service Corporation International, a Fortune 1000 company *John Wilder, CEO of TXU Corporation, a Fortune 1000 company ===Technology=== *Douglas J. Cardinal, architect *Beatrice Tinsley, astronomer ===Law, Politics, & Government=== *Ben Barnes, former Texas Speaker of the House (1965-1969) and Lieutenant Governor (1969-1973) *Dan Bartlett, White House communications director for George W. Bush *Lloyd Bentsen, U.S. Representative (1948-1955), U.S. Senator (1970-1992) and Secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton Administration *Jeb Bush, Governor (1999-present) of Florida *Jenna Bush, daughter of President of the United States George W. Bush *Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States *Liz Carpenter, press secretary for Lady Bird Johnson *Tom C. Clark, former U.S. Attorney General *Lloyd Doggett, member of the U.S. House of Representatives *Donald Evans, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce under George W. Bush *Charlie Gonzalez, member of the U.S. House of Representatives *Jeb Hensarling, member of the U.S. House of Representatives *Ruben E. Hinojosa, member of the U.S. House of Representatives *Kay Bailey Hutchison, current U.S. Senator from Texas *Admiral Bobby Inman, former director of the National Security Agency *Lady Bird Johnson, First Lady *Barbara Jordan, the first black woman from a Southern state to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives *Scott McClellan, White House Press Secretary for George W. Bush *Ann Richards, former Governor of Texas *Fernando Belaunde Terry, former president of Peru *Jim Turner (Congressman), member of the U.S. House of Representatives *Ralph Yarborough, U.S. Senator from Texas (1957-1971) == See also == *Bevo (mascot) - The name of the UT mascot *The Eyes of Texas - The school song *Hook 'em Horns - The school hand signal *Texas Fight - The school fight song *Texas Hex - school tradition *Texas House Bill 588 *Texas Longhorn - The school nickname *Smokey the cannon - Fired in celebration on game day at the moment of kickoff and after UT scores == External links == *[http://www.utexas.edu/ The University of Texas at Austin] *[http://www.utexas.edu/opa/pubs/facts/research.php Office of Public Affairs: UT Facts] *[http://www.utexas.edu/dept/ Colleges and Academic Units] *[http://www.utexas.edu/tours/mainbuilding/ The Main Building] *[http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=1582 The University of Texas campus information] *[http://lhb.music.utexas.edu/history/songs_index.html "History of School and Fight Songs"] *[http://www.texassports.com/ Athletics] *[http://www.texasexes.org/ ''Texas Exes'' alumni association] *[http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/permanent/gutenberg/ The Gutenberg Bible at the Ransom Center] *[http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/online/woodstein/ Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's Watergate papers at the Ransom Center] *[http://www.as.utexas.edu/mcdonald/mcdonald.html McDonald Observatory] *[http://www.kut.org/ KUT, the University of Texas public radio station] *[http://www.kvrnews.com KVR News 9, student broadcast news program] *[http://www.dailytexanonline.com ''The Daily Texan'' student newspaper] *[http://www.kvrx.org KVRX 91.7 FM, Student Radio for the University of Texas] University of Texas at Austin Universities and colleges in Texas Association of American Universities Space-grant universities Public universities Austin, Texas
University of Texas at Austin
* Talk:University of Texas at Austin/Old 1 == OU/A&M == I'm sure most folks who'd be interested in this page are former Longhorns, BUT, as a native Texan and 4th generation Longhorn, I take issue with the way the page portrays the OU-UT rivalry as "the biggest." It's definitely strong, but I think the rivalry -- the pure rivalry -- is much bigger between UT and A&M. I think the EVENT of the UT-OU football game is bigger because it's surrounded by the state fair, but the rivalry itself is not. I for one would like to see it changed in the text. Anybody else with thoughts? User:Katefan0 16:41, Dec 8, 2004 (UTC) : Speaking as a 2003 graduate, I think the UT-A&M rivalry has flagged a little since after the bonfire disaster. Beating OU seems to be a much bigger deal now. --User:Grouse 21:26, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC) ::I'm a 2001 graduate, fairly soon after the Bonfire when arguably emotions were even more charged. One year out from the disaster, yeah, I'd say it was less a concern. But not after that. User:Katefan0 01:27, Dec 9, 2004 (UTC) I graduated in 1991. The OU game has meant more recently, but an article like this needs to consider the long haul. Considering everything from the way the UT/atm fight songs mention each other, to the fact that they are each others oldest rivals, to the fact that they still close their regular seasons against each other, there is no doubt that atm is the bigger rivalry for UT. User:Johntex 01:20, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC) **Let's not forget that not only are they mentioned in each others' fight songs, when UT wins a football game, the top of the tower gets lit burnt orange. But when UT beats A&M at football, the entire tower gets illuminated. Not so for OU. User:Katefan0 16:28, Jan 3, 2005 (UTC) : Good point Katefan0. Another example would be mascot kidnappings. I've never heard of OU kidnapping or branding Bevo. Off the sports field, UT/atm are also in a very real competition for state funding. They are also competing for high school students in a way that an out of state school is not. We should also mention the new Long Star Rivalry series that UT/atm have implemented to carry the great rivalry into other sports. User:Johntex 17:05, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC) *I have found strong evidence to change the article to reflect that the Aggies are UT's biggest rival: A Sports Illustrated poll on "State's biggest sports rivalry"[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/features/si50/states/texas/] shows: :Texas-Texas A&M :56% :Texas-Oklahoma :15% :Cowboys-Texans :7% Also, if you Google "UT" +"biggest rival" you get more hits with "A&M" than "OU". User:Johntex 21:02, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC) ** An unscientific web poll is "strong evidence"? I don't think a "Googlefight" is a good arbiter of factual data either. Your earlier arguments were ''much'' more convincing. That said, I'm not going to revert this article. --User:Grouse 21:26, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC) ***I agree that this poll isn't exactly the most scientific, but it is interesting as supplementary evidence to our earlier points. I think the earlier discussion was convincing enough. And if not we can always RFC or something. Don't want to get too many feathers ruffled. User:Katefan0 21:36, Feb 17, 2005 (UTC) ****It is a difficult topic because it is centered around people's opinions. While a web poll is not perfectly scientific evidence, it does go some way to show prevaling opinion. Nowhere on UT's website is it going to say "Our biggest rival is ___" The closest thing might be the fact that they chose to create a special "rivalry series" with atm, not ou. Here are two more tidbits: (1) The atm rivalry goes back longer. (2) If you start-up EA Sports NCAA football, play as Texas, and select "Rivalry Game", the default comes up that you are playing against atm. The other options you can select are ou, Baylor, and Texas Tech. This is true in the 2004 and 2005 Xbox versions, which I have selflessly researched to contribute to this article. I'm not claiming this is scientific, just more evidence I forgot to mention earlier. User:Johntex 21:52, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC) ***** "The closest thing might be the fact that they chose to create a special "rivalry series" with atm, not ou." That is the most persuasive argument so far in my opinion. --User:Grouse 00:50, 18 Feb 2005 (UTC) == Most prestigious in Texas? == I know we're all proud of UT but I don't think it technically deserves that title, as Rice is consistently ranked higher than UT in almost all nationwide college reviews. The old "arguably the most prestigious" is probably better. There was a survey done out of the UK recently that rated UT tops in Texas. I'll try to find the reference. I would also be OK with switching to "arguably..." User:Johntex 01:18, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC) * The UK survey was probably basing its judgement on research sort of stuff... But I agree that by normal standards of "prestige," Rice beats UT by a long shot. * Despite Rice's distinguished research output I don't think it matches the breadth or depth of UT's. But there is no argument that Rice is ''much'' harder to get into than UT. Why not explain these nuances instead of saying "arguably" which doesn't really tell much to people who aren't already familiar with these institutions? --User:Grouse 17:40, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC) * In that case, we should just leave out "prestige" altogether and focus on describing the university. == anon changes == mm. An anon just made a boatload of changes, both substantive and structural, to the article. Some of it I agree with, some of it not so much. (Don't think we need a separate category for "student publications" given that it's barely a pp. It makes the article look choppy.) Also he or she changed back "the most prestigious" to "one of the most prestigious." As I recall there was signifciant discussion here about that. Anybody feel like it justifies a revert? I wish there was a prohibition against anon editing. User:Katefan0 21:10, Mar 15, 2005 (UTC) :I think the anon changes should be reviewed by the community and some kept. The most prestigious comment definitely needs to be changed until there is a consensus from the community. - User:Scm83x 02:33, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC) ::I started poking around a little bit. I think most folks would agree that in terms of prestige, Rice wins. I liked Grouse's suggestion up above, but I think it might be difficult to do that in a precise way without devolving into too much blah blah blah. I looked at US News's 2005 rankings of all national universities -- Rice ranks #17, UT Austin ranks #46, and A&M ranks #62 [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/natudoc/tier1/t1natudoc_brief.php]. Maybe the easiest thing to do would be: "UT is the most prestigious public school in Texas." That eliminates talk about Rice; what do you think? Or maybe "UT is one of the most prestigious schools in Texas, behind only the private Rice University" or somesuch. User:Katefan0 22:38, Mar 17, 2005 (UTC) ::: Sure, but with [http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,157854,00.jpg rankings based on research] UT is #15 and Rice doesn't even make the top 50. As an academic I would generally consider a faculty position at UT more desirable than one at Rice (exceptions for certain fields, but not for mine). I agree that an undergraduate education from Rice is certainly considered more prestigious than one from UT but I do not think that is equivalent to the prestige of the whole university. I'm sure it's possible to sum all this up in a well-written sentence for the main page, but it's 1 a.m. here and I think I'll go to bed instead. ;) --User:Grouse 00:59, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC) ::::Keep in mind that the rankings I referenced are holistic -- they take into account competition, research, student faculty ratio and a host of other things. So, I think you are slicing hairs too finely here. Also, where is the line drawn? Do we have a sentence that says "Texas Tech is widely recognized to have a better womens' basketball program, but Texas is more competitive?" That said, I'd still be interested in seeing how you propose to craft some sort of inclusive sentence. User:Katefan0 01:40, Mar 18, 2005 (UTC) :::::"One of the most prestigious" is far better than "most prestigious." As the discussions on this board have demonstrated, "most prestigious" is a contentious claim that we shouldn't be touting as an objective fact. But I bet we can all agree to "one of the most prestigious". :::::: The previous comment is by User:130.58.91.246. Please Wikipedia:Sign_your_posts_on_talk_pages. "One of the most prestigious" is a Wikipedia:Avoid_peacock_terms which is only noncontroversial because it has almost no meaning. While I'm aware of several metrics and rankings that would make the university the most prestigious public university in Texas, I'm not aware of any that would counteract that. Would you like to share any with us? In any case, one might say that we should then avoid claims of prestige altogether and just stick to listing these metrics. I'm not convinced that's a bad idea. --User:Grouse 01:40, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC) P.S. UT and A&M admissions statistics are available: [http://www.utexas.edu/academic/oir/statistical_handbook/04-05/students/s22/ here] and [http://www.tamu.edu/oisp/factbook/Enrollment/enrollment7.htm here] == Poll on University Naming Conventions == A University of Maryland, College Park/Vote has been created to assess consensus with respect to university naming conventions, specifically regarding the usage of terms like "University of Texas" vs. "University of Texas at Austin". The poll addresses this issue both in the specific case of the "University of Maryland" and proposes an amendment to Wikipedia:Naming conventions which could impact a large number of additional pages, including this one. User:Dragons flight 17:37, Mar 27, 2005 (UTC) == Laws == Actually, there are laws affecting building height... I'm not sure that they say no building can be taller than the capitol, but there ARE height laws for certain corridors of the city -- i.e., they don't want the sightlines of the capitol and UT tower to be obscured. From I-35, for instance. User:Katefan0 22:39, Mar 29, 2005 (UTC) **Here's a reprint of an AAS article that discusses the two issues very briefly [http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=193452]. User:Katefan0 22:42, Mar 29, 2005 (UTC) *** Hi Katefan. Good article. I am well aware of the Capitol View Corridor statutes but the part I removed said that no building may be taller than the capitol. I knew that the Frost Bank building was taller so I don't think that is correct. According to that article so is One American Center. And I believe the view corridors are only for the capitol as well, not the tower. The Capitol View Corridor statutes are in [http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/GV/content/htm/gv.011.00.003151.00.htm Texas Gov't Code Ch. 3151]. --User:Grouse 08:01, 30 Mar 2005 (UTC) ***And I am well aware of what information you removed. My point, perhaps too subtly made, was that some of what you deleted can be salvaged by repairing it with correct information. User:Katefan0 16:16, Mar 30, 2005 (UTC) **** I am afraid your point is still too subtle for me. What information would you have included here? If there were actually a law that actually prevented the tower sightlines from being obscured, then I agree that would be relevant information. But while it is easy to find information about the law that prevents the ''capitol'' sightlines from being obscured, I can find nothing about any law that does the same for the tower. I am happy to be proven wrong. --User:Grouse 10:30, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC) *****Whoops, sorry. I just noticed that you had responded on this earlier discussion. I think what I was mistaking is that the capitol sightlines, while not extending to the tower, nevertheless end up protecting its sightlines too because the two are in such close proximity and sort of along the same plane of view. · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 16:19, May 2, 2005 (UTC) ==Research== ''"No public or private university in the Southwest United States can match the breadth and quality of the university's research endeavors"'' This ''might'' be true... but it's phrased like an admissions pamphlet, not an encyclopedia article. It would make sense to list facts about the "university's research endeavors," but a statement like this really has no place. -- User:130.58.91.246 (unsigned) == Recent deletion of material regarding status, rankings, etc. == User:H2O last night deleted most of the information in the article referencing UT's academic rankings, status among other colleges, etc., citing Wikipedia:Avoid academic boosterism. Which are good standards. But I believe the information that was removed from the article is factually accurate and can be backed up by sourcing. So I reverted those edits. Grouse, since most of those additions were yours, can you dig up some references? I've asked H2O to come to the talk page and discuss his changes. · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 15:16, May 7, 2005 (UTC) :I don't believe that I removed anything of relevance. I left most of the ranking info in the article but moved it to the body of the article where it belongs. However, it needs to be factually verified. This article is oozing stereotypical UT superiority and snootiness. Please for crying out loud, tone it down!! I can't read this article without gagging. Is it necessary to brag incessantly about your school's achievements? Wikipedia:Avoid peacock terms. Why not just supply facts and let them speak for themselves? If they are verifiable, then supply them in a neutral fashion. It is irrelevant what Playboy thinks of the girls at UT (at least in this article). What did UT have to do with the success of Dell? Michael Dell didn't even bother to finish his degree. As far as the UT Longhorn football team, from the years 1994 - 2003, in 1994 UT finished ranked 32, '95- 15, '96- 22, '97- 76!, '98- 14, '99- 15, 2000- 14, 2003- 23 only 2001-2002 finished in top ten. This is an encyclopedia article, not a marketing brochure. There needs to be a quality article on UT, as it is no doubt a significant university, but as it stands now, it is just turning people off and reinforcing the stereotype. User:H2O 15:50, 7 May 2005 (UTC) ::I don't think this article turns people off. But as you pointed out, it's not a marketing brochure, so why would anyone care if it did?--User:Grouse 18:40, 9 May 2005 (UTC) :::"Reinforcing the stereotype?" IMO, the only people who think there is a stereotype are those with chips on their shoulders about UT. None of the information in the article is inaccurate, unsourced or otherwise inappropriate. Why shouldn't it remain? What else would you balance it with? "UT's anthropology program is ranked last of all public universities?" "Some people think UT grads are arrogant?" What's the point in adding information like that? I don't see any gaping differences in the way the UT page is treated, versus any other university's page here on Wikipedia. · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 19:20, May 9, 2005 (UTC) :A few more thoughts... By the way I don't have any personal axe to grind against UT itself, although on occasion I have come across the condescending attitude I mentioned earlier and I personally don't care for it. I more or less came across this article when I found myself collaborating with some other Texans on some topics in which I found we had some common interests. Every now and then I would read the article, and it seemed to be getting worse as time went on. I knew when I made the edits, it would stir things up, but I really think this article needs help, maybe not mine, but I really think UT deserves a better article than this. I personally would be more interested in hearing more about the history of the University, what makes it unique, etc, instead of the constant, "we're bigger, better, we have more money, our girls are prettier, our football team wins more games, and by the way, OU sucks." What place does THAT have in an encyclopedia?! User:H2O 00:12, 9 May 2005 (UTC) Not to sling mud, but if you take a quick look at the Texas A&M University page, there is just as much "boasting and bragging" as some purport there to be on this page. I think that most university pages will try to cast their schools in a positive light. I believe the page is encyclopedic. An admissions brochure certainly would not include information about the Tower shooting rampage of the 60s. The simple fact is that most all of the "bragging" information on the page can be verified and measured according to accepted standards and practices. As for the OU references, it is a part of the school's traditions and should be included. I think that equal references can be included in the OU article and should be, because it is a part of their traditions. Also, please discuss changes on the talk page before deleting things wholesale. - User:Scm83x 04:28, 9 May 2005 (UTC) :My argument isn't so much with the information as with the style (or lack thereof) in which it is presented. It's kind of like "we're better than you - let us rub your nose in it". I haven't really looked at the A&M page, but if what you say is true, then it ought to be fixed as well. User:H2O 16:10, 9 May 2005 (UTC) :I did just now skim over the A&M article and after reading the first paragraph wanted to barf. I guess I'll go over and stir up the Aggies now. I must say it has been nice chatting and sipping T with you. Must remember to take my mask and cape. User:H2O 16:16, 9 May 2005 (UTC) ::Well, we at least agree on one thing: the A&M page also makes me want to vomit. ;) Don't forget to take your chip with you. · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 19:20, May 9, 2005 (UTC) :::Ok, I'm back now - I'll deal with the Aggies later. Maybe after we get UT's article straightened out we can go gang up on them. Honestly, Katefan0, don't you think your alma mater deserves to have more written about its history than in 1839 somebody dreamed up this wonderful school and then 130 years later some idiot shot a bunch of people (he probably had a REAL chip on his shoulder). The ranking info has its place but can't it be put in the body of the article and not featured so prominently and "in your face" as the article Wikipedia:Avoid academic boosterism suggests? You said yourself that you agree with those principles. User:H2O 00:45, 10 May 2005 (UTC) :::I think the current article is a fine thumbnail. There's always room to improve articles -- I personally think every article can stand improvement. But there's a point of diminishing returns -- too much information and the article gets too long. An encyclopedia article isn't an infodump of every statistic or fact available, it's a thumbnail representation of an issue or subject. Rankings and status are integral to universities' existence and they in large part define public perception as well so I don't think it's at all inappropriate to include that information in the introduction (as seems to be standard practice for most articles here). I fail to see how that is "in your face" -- unless the reader already has made up their mind on the topic (see chip). I said the page had good guidelines, but I never said I agreed with it in its entirety (in fact this is one of the places where I disagree). Personally, I don't think there's anything inappropriate in the information that's presented on rankings etc. · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 15:59, May 10, 2005 (UTC) :I established the selectiveness of UT and A&M by looking at their admissions statistics, and there are links to said statistics elsewhere on this talk page, added during a previous discussion. I am not about to check every other public university in Texas, since it is my experience that UT and A&M are the only ones that reject large numbers. If you have any counterexamples, please post them here. Both general university rankings, and research-based rankings are listed elsewhere in this talk page. The Carnegie Foundation has a widely used classification of universities, and here are the listing sfor [http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/Classification/CIHE2000/PartIfiles/DRU-EXT.htm Doctoral/Research Universities—Extensive] in case you would like to compare with peer institutions. In the future, please read through talk pages and see what has already been discussed before making wholesale deletions. Thank you, --User:Grouse 18:36, 9 May 2005 (UTC) ::What are wholesale deletions? You mean like "in bulk"? I used to sell wholesale irrigation equipment. I always try to "be bold" in my edits. If people don't like them, they can always revert. I am sorry if I offended anyone or stepped on anyone's turf, but I really do think this article needs work. In my opinion, school rankings and "prestige" deserve much less prominence than they are given. My own school (Texas Tech) chancellor recently spent $450,000 on a marketing campaign for some Austin firm to improve our image. What an idiot! He should have spent that money on improving the quality of education at our school. User:H2O 00:45, 10 May 2005 (UTC) :::Yes. H2O, you *should* be bold. But as the howto page says, Wikipedia:Be bold "but don't be reckless." As that page points out, if you are making a change that you think might be controversial, then you should read the talk page to see if it has already been discussed. A lot of the prestige stuff had been discussed on the talk page before. The article definitely needs work and substantive additions, and I hope you can help. Thanks for the spelling fix. --User:Grouse 15:10, 10 May 2005 (UTC) ::::Point taken. I will try to be a little more "sensitive" in the future. I will say this -- I had skimmed (but not thoroughly read) the talk page earlier, and I saw that an anonymous poster had questioned the line about the "quality and breadth" of the research and had basically been told that since he / she was anonymous that their opinion didn't matter. I disagree, and I do believe that particular line goes way over the top. Personally I don't know what I can add, but I will make suggestions to make this article more readable for the general public. There really ought to be something about the history of the school in its opening paragraph, and I still think the ranking info should be toned down and moved to the body of the article. User:H2O 15:54, 10 May 2005 (UTC) == Reverted anon's changes == An anon just changed the text of the intro to read "Recently has consistently been ranked the top public university...." and gave this as a justification in his edit summary: (UT - Consistently ranked best public university in Texas 'recently'. Texas A&M University was ranked higher in 1997-1999 and tied in 2000.) Personally, I think the past five years of being ranked tops is enough to just say is consistently ranked, without needing "recently." Also, if we're going to start breaking it down by year, what were the rankings pre-1997? Should we also say "and before 1997 was ranked...?" This is unnecessary detail IMO. And if the anon wishes to press his case, I'd like to see what source he is using. · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 20:08, May 9, 2005 (UTC) == An H2O addition == ''University of Texas fans are known as "T-sippers" to those from other schools, especially those from Texas A&M. Bud Finlayson described the rivalry in his book, Mustang Country, "It was the country boys vs. the city slickers; the humble, hard working, hick farmers vs. the flashy, sophisticated, upper-crust snobs of society."[15]'' I don't know that this really needs to be included in the article, but if it is kept, it needs some balance. How about some Aggie stereotypes? Maybe a section on [http://images.radcity.net/5191/140717.txt Aggie Jokes]? Thoughts? · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 17:40, May 12, 2005 (UTC) :Well, first of all it's incorrect on two accounts. Only A&M refers to UT in that manner, I don't know what 'other schools' the original writer had in mind. The correct 'derogatory' term is "T-Sip"...never heard an Aggie say "T-Sipper", although it is possible that it was used more prominently when the author of the cited passage was roaming around in the 60's. If you decide to keep it, my opinion would be to find a better (updated) source regarding the term in question. As you suggest Katefan, Aggie jokes would be a good balance if you decide to leave H20's addition in. ::H2O, you added in this: '' This was likely due in response to the popularity of Aggie jokes which portrays A&M fans as of low intelligence. Many Aggie jokes contain references to both.'' This first sentence is pure speculation -- is it your own or can you source it? If not it should probably be removed and the reference to Aggie jokes added in another way. Also, my personal experience with Aggie jokes is that they poke fun at Aggies. I don't think I've ever seen an Aggie joke that references a UT stereotype. · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 15:15, May 13, 2005 (UTC) *I went ahead and changed the paragraph a bit, took out that speculation and added in a link to some Aggie jokes as well as an example of an Aggie joke. See what you think. Thanks · User:Katefan0User talk:Katefan0 15:36, May 13, 2005 (UTC) :::I'm a little older and I remember reading a book of Aggie jokes years ago that had many references to "T-sippers", but it appears that term has mostly gone the way of "hep cat" and other obsolete slang and is now just "T-sip". There are a few jokes online that reference both, one of which I found is pretty tasteless. As a Christian, I can't endorse such a joke but if someone did google search on "T-sipper aggie joke", they might find it and then they too could agree that it's pretty bad. User:H2O 23:01, 13 May 2005 (UTC)
University of Texas at Austin
Universities and colleges in Texas
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
U
UA | UB | UC | UD | UE | UF | UG | UH | UI | UJ | UK | UL | UM | UN | UO | UP | UR | US | UT | UW | UX | UY | UZ |Words begining with University_of_Texas_at_Austin:
University_Of_Texas_At_Austin
University_of_Texas_at_Austin
University_of_Texas_at_Austin
University_of_Texas_at_Austin
University_of_Texas_at_Austin/Old_1
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