3 Forward
Rarely do existing organizations originate as they are currently configured. Most go through several phases of development that often occur over decades. During these development stages, memories fade or cease to exist and the current observer may be totally unaware of the energies, dedication, and resources that many of the organization’s pioneers committed to the early creation and development of the organization.
In this volume, Andrew Johnson has managed to capture the evolution of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi from the time the campus area was primarily a fishing and camping place for local Native American inhabitants to its current vibrant existence as a bustling academic campus serving over 10,000 students in a wide variety of degree programs and research endeavors.
The end of World War II provided an opportunity for advocates to pursue aspirations of having a higher education presence in South Texas and particularly the Corpus Christi area. The closure of many former military operations created a ready-made physical presence for possible development. The abandoned buildings and other facilities, although lucrative from a superficial view, posed many fiscal and operational challenges in using them for a new modest operation. For the most part, the U.S. Government wanted to rid itself of the entire operating base, not just a building or two. Thus, initial attempts to form a college in Beeville, and at Cuddihy Field in Corpus Christi failed.
The Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) was the leading force behind creating additional higher education institutions especially for South Texas. However, it was also involved in creating many other colleges in Texas from Wayland Baptist University in Plainview to East Texas Baptist University in Marshall with several notable institutions in between including Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Howard Payne University in Brownwood, and Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton; and of course, its premier campus Baylor University. Thus, its resources were stretched far and didn’t provide much backing for a new university in South Texas. Financial support had to be mainly created locally.
Then Guy Warren and Howard E. Butt (creator of the HEB grocery firm) entered the scene and helped underwrite local funding for the newly created University of Corpus Christi which existed until the early 1970’s when the institution became State supported. Johnson in this volume captures the further evolution of the university through its existence as Texas A&I University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi State University and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. His publication not only describes the academic development of the university but also identifies many of those leaders who were instrumental in its growth and advancement. Carl Wrotenbery’s book, “Baptist Island College – An Interpretive History of the University of the University of Corpus Christi, 1946-1970,” provides many insights into the early history of the campus and its leaders.
I was privileged to have been chosen to lead the university during its beginnings as a campus of the Texas A&M University System which involved its evolution from an upper-level institution to one that incorporates all levels of student activity from freshman to doctoral students. By necessity, this period involved hiring substantial numbers of new faculty, constructing the facilities needed to offer many new courses and programs, and building many infrastructure elements needed to support the new students and faculty.
The reader should enjoy learning of the development of the campus from its modest beginnings on the site of a U.S. Navy’s Radar Training facility to its current extensive student-oriented operations. Ironically, what was an abandoned Naval flight facility is now the headquarters of a U.S. Government FAA operation, the Lone Star Unmanned Aerial System Center of Excellence and Innovation, which is one of only two test sites that NASA is supporting nationally for testing and development of unmanned aircraft systems (drones). It’s come a long way!
By Robert R. Furgason, Ph.D., P.E.
President Emeritus of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi