Georgetown, TX (February 5, 2016) – Students, faculty, staff, and alumni gathered today in front of the Red and Charline McCombs Campus Center to celebrate Southwestern University’s 176th Charter Day. The celebration also officially unveiled the 175th Anniversary Brick Garden, while the 2015-2016 (175 years) time capsule was buried with plans to be dug up at the University’s 200th Charter Day. President Edward Burger proudly spoke about Southwestern’s “storied history” while looking forward to its “boundless future.”

In hand, President Burger held Senate Proclamation No. 15 which he received on January 22, 2016 stating, in part, that “Southwestern University is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas” and the “mother of higher education in Texas.”

 

Southwestern’s history dates back to before Texas earned statehood. In 1835, Col. William B. Travis penned a letter to the “New York Christian Advocate” calling for the establishment of a Methodist presence in the new Republic of Texas. Five years later, the first of Southwestern’s four root colleges was born from the vision of Methodist missionary Martin Ruter. By 1872, the Texas Legislature officially recognized “…the Georgetown University as the successor to its four predecessors: Rutersville, Wesleyan, McKenzie, and Soule.”

President Burger says that 176 years later, Southwestern University continues to inspire talented individuals to reach potentials even beyond their own initial expectations.

“This intellectual, creative community offers a distinctive, life-enriching, residential liberal arts undergraduate experience intentionally designed to empower students to think, create, and connect to make meaning and make a difference - through that journey, to flourish and become their best selves,” says President Burger.