Regents approve new math program at SWT

Date of release: 05/08/03

SAN MARCOS — A new master’s degree program being proposed by Southwest Texas State University is aimed at developing a new breed of mathematicians to work in business and industrial fields.

The program leading to a master of science degree with a major in industrial mathematics was approved Thursday, May 8, by the Texas State University System Board of Regents at its regular meeting in San Angelo. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board must still approve it before it can be implemented at SWT, and the program could begin as early as this fall.

Other graduate mathematics programs at SWT have been designed to prepare students for careers in research or teaching, but the new program was developed to meet a growing need in business and industry. The program will include coursework in mathematical and statistical modeling and computer simulation.

In other SWT related action, the board:

  • Authorized the university to exchange property it owns along Comanche Street for Fredericksburg Street owned by the city of San Marcos to facilitate construction of San Marcos Hall Phase II and to allow the city to widen Comanche Street.
  • Authorized the university to seek bids for the possible lease of additional classroom and office space for the Round Rock Higher Education Center.
  • Anticipating the move of the departments of Technology and Art to the Mitte Complex this summer, renamed the six Technology Complex buildings for the Pedernales, Pecos, Trinity, Sabinal, Medina and Colorado rivers and renamed the Art Building the Lampasas Building.
  • Authorized the university to seek potential buyers for approximately 80 acres in Hays County acquired in 1991 from the World Wildlife Fund.
  • Acknowledged gifts to the university of $5,000 or more from:
  • The W. S. Benson Company to support the Department of Geography and the Grosvenor Endowment.
  • Sac-N-Pac stores toward its pledge to support the Bobcat Stadium End Zone Complex.
  • The Hobby Family foundation to establish the Garland Jack Gravitt Professorship in Media Studies.
  • Richard Boehm and Denise Blanchard-Boehm to the Grosvenor Endowment.
  • Priority Personnel in support of the CenturyTel Celebrity Classic Scholarship Fund.
  • An anonymous donor in support of the Theatre Arts Alumni Scholarship.
  • The State Farm Companies Foundation in support of the SWT MathWorks program.
  • The Azadoutioun Foundation to support the Southwestern Writers Collection.
  • The Amgen Foundation as a matching gift in support of the SWT baseball program.
  • Dionicio “Don” Flores to increase the Flores Mass Communication Endowment.
  • Richard Simmons to establish the Leon and Verann Simmons Geography Scholarship.
  • James Wiatt to support publication costs of the book series produced by the Wittliff Gallery.
  • Authorized the university to extend new three-year special employment contracts to men’s basketball coach Dennis Nutt and women’s basketball coach Suzanne Fox.
  • Authorized the university to accept improvements to Jackson Hall, the Tower, College Inn, Strahan Coliseum, Jowers Center and the End Zone Complex.
  • Adopted the following resolution: “In the event a name change for Southwest Texas State University as proposed in pending legislation in the Senate and House of Representatives is enacted, the Board of Regents of the Texas State University System hereby resolves that the policy of the Board is using best efforts to preclude the utilization of the acronym ‘TSU’ by system employees with reference to Southwest Texas State University.”
  • Accepted the annual reports of various university foundations.
  • Accepted the financial report for the Aquarena properties for the first six months of FY 2003.
  • Authorized the university to accept proposals and award a one-year contract for waste hauling services.
  • Approved routine curriculum changes, budget amendments and personnel matters.

The TSUS Board of Regents governs the following eight components: Angelo State University in San Angelo, Lamar University in Beaumont, Lamar State College-Port Arthur, Lamar State College-Orange, Lamar Institute of Technology in Beaumont, Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, SWT and Sul Ross State University in Alpine, including the Rio Grande College with campuses in Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Uvalde.

Members of the nine-member board are John P. Hageman of Austin, chair; James A. “Jimmy” Hayley of Texas City, vice chair; Kent Adams of Beaumont; Patricia Diaz Dennis of San Antonio; Alan W. Dreeben of Schertz; Dionicio “Don” Flores of El Paso; Nancy R. Neal of Lubbock; Pollyanna A. Stephens of San Angelo; and James L. Sweatt III of De Soto. Chancellor Lamar Urbanovsky manages the system office in Austin.