Texas Wesleyan University was founded by the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, in 1890. A committee under the
direction of Bishop Joseph S. Key explored locations for a
campus and settled on a site east of Fort Worth donated by
area pioneers, A.S. Hall, W.D. Hall, and George Tandy.
Originally called Polytechnic College, which has the
literal meaning “many arts and sciences,” the school held
its first classes in September 1891, with a handful of
faculty members and 111 students. In 1902, H.A. Boaz
assumed the presidency and managed a period of moderate
growth. He conceived the idea of a new university for
Southern Methodism and planned to develop Polytechnic
College into that university.
When Dallas was selected by the church leaders as the site
for Southern Methodist University, the Polytechnic campus
was designated the Woman’s College for Southern Methodism,
eventually becoming Texas Woman’s College in 1914. Young
women from around Texas and the Southwest attended Texas
Woman’s College as it developed into a major force in
North Texas. However, faced with dwindling resources
during the Depression, trustees voted to close the school
in 1931. A merger with the financially secure Texas
Wesleyan Academy in Austin kept the doors open and created
the new institution of Texas Wesleyan College in 1934. Men
were readmitted that same year.
Since 1934, Texas Wesleyan has remained a co-educational
liberal arts institution with an increasingly
comprehensive academic and student life program. In
addition to strong undergraduate programs, the University
added graduate programs in education in the 1970s and in
nurse anesthesia in the 1980s. After contemplating a
relocation of the campus to a west Fort Worth site, Texas
Wesleyan renewed its commitment to its historic
Polytechnic Heights location by building the Eunice and
James L. West Library. Recognizing thegrowth in programs,
trustees changed the name of the institution to
TexasWesleyan University, effective in January 1989.
Texas Wesleyan has historically combined service to a
residential population along with its strong commitment to
a commuting and adult population. To add flexibility in
the scheduling of courses and to recognize the special
needs of adult learners, the University added the C.E.
Hyde Weekend/Evening Program in 1994. The University
established a campus in downtown Fort Worth in 1997 with
the relocation of the Texas Wesleyan University School of
Law, which was established in 1992 following the
acquisition of theformer Dallas/Fort Worth School of Law.
The Texas Wesleyan School of Law is fully accredited by
the American Bar Association.
The University has cooperative programs with a number of
high schools which allow seniors to enroll in university
classes for credit and become familiar with the university
experience. Throughout its history, the University has
remained closely affiliated with the United Methodist
Church. The University maintains special relationships
with several United Methodist congregations, and some of
the trustees are representatives of the United Methodist
Church. In keeping with Methodist tradition, the
University welcomes individuals of all faiths and is
thoroughly ecumenical in its practices.
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