Located just a mile from the State Capital building, the University of Texas campus is one of Austin's main attractions. While the first mention of the establishment of a Texas university occurred in 1821 at the constitutional state convention, no action was taken until 1881, when the University of Texas was founded. It's Austin campus is the flagship for this public research university. With a student population of 51,000 and with faculty/staff numbering more than 24,000, the University of Texas serves as host to two museums and 17 libraries (including the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library). It was elected into the Association of American Universities in 1929 ( only the third university in the American South to reach this milestone). UT is ranked as a major center for academic research, with members of its faculty having received the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the Wolf Prize (an international prize for "...achievement in the interests of mankind..."), an Emmy, a Turing Award (for computing), and a National Medal of Science (as well as many other awards). Its "Longhorn Network" ( a 24 hour television network in partnership with ESPN) is the only sports network featuring the college sports of a single university.
The University of Texas is not without its controversies. In 1916, Governor James E. Ferguson feuded with UT over his desire to remove certain faculty he found "objectionable." When the Board of Regents refused to comply with his request, the Governor vetoed the entire appropriations for the university. The Texas House of Representatives stepped into the fray by charging the Governor (amongst other things) with "Misapplication of Public Funds" and removed him from office. On August 1, 1966, student Charles Whitman barricaded himself on the observation deck of the tower of the Main Building and began shooting, eventually killing 14 people before police killed him.
The first Presidential Library on a university campus (LBJ's library) was dedicated here on May 22, 1971 and is one of 13 Presidential Libraries run by the National Archives and Records Administration. Totaling more than1400 acres (with 423 acres at its main campus in Austin), The University of Texas is massive, and includes its own TRIGA nuclear reactor ( a class of small reactors designed and manufactured by General Atomics). Two public radio stations, KUT and KUTX, also operate on the campus. The University of Texas' Austin campus was on a direct line between our apartment and downtown Austin, so we got to visit it daily.
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