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Texas Tech Then & Now NOW Texas Tech became an educational system in 1996 when the university formed a structure that included a chancellor, who supervised a Texas Tech University president and a Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center president. John T. Montford was hired as the first Texas Tech chancellor. Together with Texas Tech University President Donald R. Haragan and David R. Smith, M.D., president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Texas Tech attained status as a widely-recognized educational and research institution. After Montford stepped down from his position, Smith was named Texas Tech�s second chancellor in 2002 and M. Roy Wilson, M.D., was named president of the Health Sciences Center. Jon Whitmore was named the university�s 14th president September 1, 2003. One of the lasting contributions Montford left was his ability to rally financial support for Texas Tech. That ability, along with his vision of Texas Tech as one of the great universities in the nation, was capsulized in The Horizon Campaign. The Horizon Campaign was the first comprehensive capital fund-raising effort of its kind in the history of Texas Tech University. When Montford announced the five-year campaign�s initial goal of $300 million in the fall of 1995, some believed it to be a lofty one for the relatively young university. However, the response was remarkable as the campaign reached the $300-million mark two years early. The final tally on The Horizon Campaign showed that Texas Tech had raised more than $511 million. For Texas Tech, this money provided a significant increase in its endowment, which in turn will result in more funds for enrichments like scholarships, graduate fellowships, and the Honors College. All of these things help attract the finest faculty and students to our campus. A healthy endowment is critical for the future growth of Texas Tech. In 1997, the endowment in the Texas Tech Foundation, Inc., stood at some $180 million. The goal of The Horizon Campaign was to increase the endowment to $500 million. Each year, Texas Tech has reached a milestone in its continual climb to national prominence. The university�s mission is to become a Tier 1 academic institution. Texas Tech is well on its way to accomplishing that goal. The Lubbock campus also has undergone an unprecedented construction boom in the past several years. Following the Campus Master Plan that was devised by the university, the campus has seen the addition of the United Spirit Arena, the Education/English/Philosophy complex, the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, the Student Recreation Center expansion, the new Student Union, the Marsha Sharp Center for Student Athletes, the new football pressbox/suite complex, plus many more projects. Athletically, Texas Tech athletes now compete in the Big 12 Conference. After the demise of the Southwest Conference in 1996, Texas Tech, along with fellow Southwest Conference schools Baylor, Texas, and Texas A&M, joined the eight schools that formed the Big 8 Conference to create the Big 12. Red Raider fans in 1993 saw a major achievement with the Lady Raiders women�s basketball team winning the NCAA National Championship, Texas Tech�s first ever. Sheryl Swoopes was named Player of the Year by USA Today, Sports Illustrated and numerous other entities. She was also named Female Athlete of 1993 by the Associated Press. Texas Tech can also boast one of the best stable of coaches in the nation. Marsha Sharp has had her share of national accolades as she has molded the Lady Raiders into one of the nation's elite women's basketball teams. On the men's side, the Red Raiders are led by one of the greatest coaches in basketball history—Bob Knight. Mike Leach is at the helm of the Texas Tech football squad, and he has brought the nation's best aerial attack to West Texas. And the success doesn't stop on the baseball diamond as Red Raider skipper Larry Hays consistently fields a top-25 baseball team. Texas Tech graduates have earned distinction as CEOs, U.S. Cabinet members, Metropolitan Opera soloists, Pulitzer Prize-winners, heads of international corporations, and NASA astronauts. Future alumni look just as promising, if not more so, because the university has set a priority on enrolling the highest-quality academic students possible. The Honors College, formerly the Honors Program, provides students with opportunities to excel academically. Students and student teams have reflected the emphasis on quality at Texas Tech, winning regional, national, and international titles. Not to be outdone, the faculty at Texas Tech have won their own national trophies, leading professional organizations and publications, holding major offices, and outscoring their peers in national and international competitions. |