History of Texas A&M University–Commerce (1996–present)

In this period, A&M–Commerce has been led by four presidents: Jerry D. Morris, Keith D. McFarland, Dan R. Jones, and Ray M. Keck, and has seen the number of students increase from 7,400 in 2000 to 13,000 in 2015.

Since the inaugural event, its keynote speakers have included Brod Bagert, Gloria Houston, Steven Kellogg, Jerry Pallotta, Brian Pinkney, and Jane Yolen.

[17] In 2009, the planetarium celebrated the International Year of Astronomy by hosting a public observing night at the university's observatory and shows documenting Galileo and the history of the telescope.

[21][22] In 2007, A&M–Commerce established its Honors College, which provides full-ride scholarships, full fees, and free apartment housing for approximately 50 students each cohort.

[24] In fall 2010, the related Regents' Scholars Program was established, which annually awards 30 freshmen with a four-year scholarship that covers 70% of their tuition, fees, and room and board costs.

[26] The resulting digital content was first made available to the public on Veterans Day in 2007, and by July 2008 25 oral history interviews could be accessed online from the library's website.

[28][29] In 2008, after broadcasting from the Performing Arts Center since 1977, campus radio station KETR moved into a new studio in Binnion Hall.

[33][34][35] When Jones began as president in Commerce in 2008, Hispanic enrollment was approximately at 7% of the student body, although during his tenure it rose markedly, to about 18% by fall 2015.

[42] The university additionally purchased and began operating the 14-acre (5.7 ha) Twin Oaks Blueberry Farm, which is located south of campus in Campbell, in 2010.

[43] Also in 2010, A&M–Commerce's Children's Learning Center, which provides on-campus child care for parents who are students, staff, or faculty at the university, was awarded the prestigious "Texas Rising Star" distinction for "exceeding state licensing requirements".

[33][54][55][56] That year the university also opened a then-unnamed, three-story residence hall (later christened Pride Rock), which cost $14 million to build and can house 258 students.

[61] In 2012, A&M–Commerce's Wind Ensemble and Chorale performed in a show called "Deep in the HeART of Texas" at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

[68] A&M–Commerce also opened an off-campus instructional site in Rockwall in 2012,[15][33] which the university announced would be closed in 2017 due largely to low enrollment.

[81] The university created the Texas Affordable Baccalaureate Program in 2014 as well; it is a competency-based degree that emphasizes organizational leadership and promises that an incoming student with no prior college credits can complete it in three years for no more than $15,000 total.

He had previously served as president of Texas A&M International University in Laredo, where he had worked closely with Jones, who had been Keck's provost.

As part of the William L. Mayo Prestigious Speaker Series, the campus has been visited by musician India Arie,[107] civil rights activist Ruby Bridges,[108] Ben & Jerry's co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield,[109] SportsCenter anchor Linda Cohn,[110] boxers Curtis Cokes, Troy Dorsey, Victor Ortiz, and John Ruiz,[111][112][113] Olympians Ryan Lochte and Misty May-Treanor,[110] actor RJ Mitte,[114] and journalist Dan Rather.

[115] As part of the grant-funded Latino Americans: 500 Years of History series, between fall 2015 and spring 2016 the campus hosted talks by cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz,[116] comic book artists Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez,[117] and ethnic studies professor David Montejano.

[118] Resumed in fall 2016, the Sam Rayburn Speaker Series brought other notable people to campus, including history professor Jeremy Adelman[119] and philosopher Cornel West.

[120][121][122] Other personalities of note to speak on campus include basketball player Bruce Bowen,[123] athlete (and former ETSU student) John Carlos,[124][125] author Rachel Cruze,[126] astronaut and scientist Mae Jemison,[127][128] athlete Kyle Maynard,[129] football player Nate Newton,[130] poet Tim Seibles,[131] writer Will Self,[132] and Tuskegee Airman Calvin J.

[146] The team appeared for the first time on national television in 2007, and made its second such appearance on CBS Sports Network's Division II National Football Game of the Week in 2012,[147] when it played Midwestern State University in the Lone Star Classic Football Festival at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington for the second year in a row.

[151] Colby Carthel, who had played linebacker for the Angelo State Rams from 1996 to 1999,[152] was named the A&M–Commerce head coach in January 2013,[153] following the resignation of Morriss in November 2012.

[156] During the 2014 season, the Lions set a Division II record for total offense when they accumulated 986 yards against East Texas Baptist in a 98–20 win.

[158][159] The men's basketball team won the 1996 LSC championship and qualified for three straight NCAA Division II tournaments between 1996 and 1998.

[162] In June 2014, two of the team's players, Aubree Butts and Devin Oliver, were killed in a car crash that also injured their teammates La'Tisha Hearne and Zenobia Winbush.

[163][164] Additionally in 2014, 1998 A&M–Commerce graduate Miranda Serna, who was at the time working as an assistant coach for the Oklahoma State Cowgirls basketball team, was killed in a plane crash.

[170] Under head coach Mark Copeland, himself a four-year football letter winner while a student-athlete at ETSU, the men's golf team led the nation in scoring average in 1997 and won the LSC title in 1998.

[172] In May 2015, the Lions men's track and field team won its first LSC championship in 48 years and earned a #1 national ranking in Division II.