View source for West Texas A&M University

{{Short description|Public university in Canyon, Texas, US}}
{{Infobox university
| name              = West Texas A&M University
| image        = West Texas A&M University seal.svg
| image_upright     = 0.7
| motto             = Visio Veritas Valor
| mottoeng          = Vision. Truth. Bravery.
| established       = {{start date and age|1910}}
| type              = [[Public university]] 
| parent            = [[Texas A&M University System]]
| endowment         = US$91.1 million<ref name="IR">{{cite web|url=http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/west-texas-am-3665 |title=USNews.com: US News Education: Colleges: West Texas A&M University |access-date=2021-03-05 |publisher=U.S. News & World Report }}</ref> (2019)
| budget            = US$154,403,422<ref name="Facts">{{cite web|url=https://www.wtamu.edu/about/quick_facts.aspx|title=Quick Facts |work=wtamu.edu |access-date=2021-03-05}}</ref> (2019–2020)
| president         = Walter Wendler
| provost           = 
| academic_staff    = 350<ref name="Facts"/>
| administrative_staff   = 466<ref name="Facts"/>
| students          = 10,051<ref name="Facts"/>
| undergrad         = 7,338<ref name="Facts"/>
| postgrad          = 2,603<ref name="Facts"/>
| other             = 110 (2nd Bachelor's)<ref name="Facts"/>
| city              = [[Canyon, Texas]]
| country           = U.S.
| coor              = {{coord|34.9844|-101.9134|type:edu_region:US|display=inline,title}}
| campus            = Suburban, {{convert|342|acre}}
| former_names      = West Texas State Normal College (1910–1923)<br />West Texas State Teachers College (1923–1949)<br />West Texas State College (1949–1963)<br />West Texas State University (1963–1990)
| colors            = {{color box|#581818}}&nbsp;{{color box|white}} Maroon and white
|athletics_affiliations = [[NCAA Division II]] – [[Lone Star Conference|Lone Star]]
| sports_nickname          = [[West Texas A&M Buffaloes|Buffaloes or Buffs]]
| mascot            = [[American Bison|Buffalo]] 
| website           = {{URL|https://www.wtamu.edu}}
| logo              = West Texas A&M University wordmark.svg
}}

'''West Texas A&M University''' ('''WTAMU''' or '''WT''') is a [[public university]] in [[Canyon, Texas]], United States. It is the northernmost campus of the [[Texas A&M University System]] and accredited by the [[Southern Association of Colleges and Schools|Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)]]. It was established on September 20, 1910, as '''West Texas State [[Normal school|Normal College]]''' as one of the seven state-funded [[normal school|teachers' college]]s in Texas.

==History==
[[File:Canyon Texas - WTAMU - Old Main Building.jpg|thumb|left|West Texas A&M University Old Main Building]]

===1910 West Texas State Normal College===
In its first school year, West Texas State Normal College had 152 all-white students and 16 faculty members. Its first president was Robert B. Cousins. A year after the [[Texas Legislature|Texas State House of Representatives]] approved the bill to establish West Texas State Normal College, construction began on the school's Administration Building. It consisted of the school's only classrooms, laboratory, library, and offices. On March 25, 1914, the school burned down; however, classes continued in local churches, courthouses, and vacant buildings. Later, in 1916, a new Administration Building opened. West Texas State Normal College hired famed American artist [[Georgia O'Keeffe]] to be the head of the Art Department from the fall of 1916 to February 1918. O'Keeffe has been recognized as the "Mother of [[American modernism]]".<ref name=CSPAN>[http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/310650-1 Life and Artwork of Georgia O'Keeffe], the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum (11:00), [[C-SPAN]]{{cite web | title =Life and Artwork of Georgia O'Keeffe | publisher =[[C-SPAN]] | date = January 9, 2013 | url =http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/310650-1 | access-date =September 24, 2015 }}</ref>

===1923 West Texas State Teachers College===
The first four-year college degrees were granted in 1919. In the following years, the college was admitted to the American Association of Teachers Colleges in 1922, the Association of Texas Colleges in 1923, and the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1925. The school changed its name to West Texas State Teachers College in 1923. In the early 1930s, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Society built its [[Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum]] on the campus.

In 1948, a nonconformist leftist [[sociology]] professor, Joseph L. Duflot, created a sensation on campus when he told a meeting of the [[American Federation of Labor]] in Amarillo that "modern capitalism" is the "No. 1 enemy of the United States economy." A powerful legislator at the time, Sam Hanna of [[Dallas County, Texas|Dallas County]], warned that state funding could be jeopardized for any college with "a communist" on the faculty. Though the West Texas regents first dismissed Duflot, he survived a second vote, and regent H.L. Mills praised him for "the courage of his convictions".<ref name=WTHA>Martin "Marty" Kuhlman, "The Red Scare at West Texas State", [[West Texas Historical Association]], annual meeting, West Texas A&M University in Canyon, April 5, 2008</ref> During the days of West Texas State University, the football team was an enormously successful feeder program for notable professional wrestlers including [[Tully Blanchard]], [[Dusty Rhodes]], [[Terry Funk]], [[Ted DiBiase]], [[Bobby Duncum Sr.|Bobby Duncum]], [[Tito Santana]], [[Barry Windham]], [[Bruiser Brody]], [[Dory Funk Jr]]., and [[Stan Hansen]], among others.

Many returning veterans from [[World War II]] enrolled at the institution in the latter 1940s, taking advantage of new [[G.I. Bill of Rights]] assistance. Conditions were so overcrowded for a time that the former soldiers slept in the [[gym]]nasium, and beds were brought from a former [[prisoner of war]] camp in [[Hereford, Texas|Hereford]].<ref name=WTHA/>

===1949 West Texas State College===
In 1949, the school again changed its name, this time to West Texas State College. During the [[Cold War]], attention at West Texas State was focused on [[anticommunism]]. One history professor, John Cook, claimed that many of the films shown on campus, such as ''Communism on the Map'', were "propaganda". During this time, too, [[historian]] [[J. Evetts Haley]] ran for [[governor of Texas]] on a staunchly [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] platform, but the office went to [[Price Daniel|Marion Price Daniel Sr.]]<ref name=WTHA/>

[[File:Georgia O'Keeffe UVa.jpg|thumb|left|[[Georgia O'Keeffe]], head of the art department from 1916 to 1918]]

===1963 West Texas State University===
At its founding the school admitted only white students. The first black student to graduate was [[Helen Neal]] in 1962.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wtamu.edu/about/diversity-inclusion/neal-multicultural-suite.html|title = Neal Multicultural Suite &#124; WTAMU}}</ref> During the 1960s, the school changed from a regional teacher's college to a state university. In 1963, Governor [[John B. Connally]] signed a bill to change the school's name to West Texas State University. The newly named school gained a [[Liberal arts college|College of Arts and Sciences]], a [[graduate school]], and professional [[Business school|schools of business]]. Near the end of the 1960s, West Texas State obtained its own [[board of regents]], established a School of [[Agriculture]] and a School of [[Fine art|Fine Art]]s, and created a [[Nursing school|Department of Nursing]].

By 1970, the student enrollment neared 8,000, but was decreasing. The primary reasons were the changes in the [[Selective Service System]] and increases in tuition. The university's funding was largely enrollment-driven, and this caused serious financial problems for the school.

The [[Campus radio|college radio]] station [[KWTS]] began broadcasting in 1972. The West Texas State athletics were in the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] (NCAA) [[NCAA Division I|Division I]] [[Missouri Valley Conference]], but the school decided to change its status to [[NCAA Division II|Division II]] and the [[Lone Star Conference]] in 1984.

In 1986, WT President Ed Roach was the subject of protests and calls for his resignation over the amount of money spent on the campus' Presidential House.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3CECCB2525036&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=President Gets Backing of Regents|work=Dallas Morning News|date=November 20, 1986|access-date=2010-08-22}}</ref> The {{convert|7301|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} house cost $991,000, which was more than the $494,900 authorized by the State College Coordinating Board.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3CEBDDC7FB528&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=State wants WTSU to repay overrun on President's House|date=October 30, 1986|first=Ken|last=Herman|access-date=2010-08-22}}</ref> In 1991, Roach was indicted for diverting scholarship money to meet other budget deficits.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ex-university chief indicted He's 1 of 3 charged in West Texas scholarship funds case|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED5629AE54141E0&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |date=December 11, 1991|work=Dallas Morning News|access-date=2010-08-22}}</ref>

===1993 West Texas A&M University===
The university joined the [[Texas A&M University System]] on September 1, 1990, and started to use the name West Texas A&M University in 1993. The letters "A&M" short for "Agricultural and Mechanical" taken from the [[Morrill Land-Grant Acts]].<ref name="handbook">{{cite web |last=Dethloff |first=Henry C. |author-link=Henry C. Dethloff |title=Texas A&M University |publisher=The Handbook of Texas |url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/kct08 |access-date = 2014-10-02}}</ref> The school's first president under the new system was Barry B. Thompson. Early in Thompson's tenure, he dropped the school's [[American football|football]] program, but the program returned a year later without athletic scholarships.

President Thompson was appointed chancellor of the Texas A&M University System in 1994 and Russell C. Long became the new president. During Long's tenure, the school renovated buildings, maintained its student enrollment growth, and added its first [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] in agriculture.

[[File:West Texas A&M University, Old Main and Buffalo Statue, 2014.jpg|thumb|right|Old Main building on the campus of West Texas A&M University after construction of the Original Texans marble buffalo fountain]]
The school had a long-term connection with [[T. Boone Pickens]], who was appointed to its board of regents in 1969. On March 21, 1973, Pickens resigned from the board in protest,{{clarify |date=August 2016 |reason=what was he protesting?}}, but was reappointed in 1981 and became its chair in 1982. He continued to chair its board until its merger with the Texas A&M system in 1990. In 1987, he pledged a $1.5 million matching gift to endow its business school, which was named in his honor. On November 24, 2004, the school issued a press release stating that it planned to remove Pickens' name from the T. Boone Pickens College of Business after university officials came to believe he had not completed pledges he made to the university. In fact, Pickens had satisfied his pledge, but asked to have his name removed. On December 1, 2004, the then-President Russell C. Long acknowledged the error and agreed to remove Pickens' name.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.amarillo.com/stories/120204/new_733130.shtml|work=Amarillo Globe News|title=WT: Pickens exceeds pledged donations|first=Brandi|last=Dean|date=December 2, 2004|access-date=2010-08-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523214810/http://amarillo.com/stories/120204/new_733130.shtml|archive-date=2012-05-23|url-status=dead}}</ref> Subsequently, Pickens donated $165 million to [[Oklahoma State University-Stillwater]]. In 2007, Pickens endowed the Pickens Professorship of Business and in 2010, he endowed the Pickens Professorship of Management. In 2017, the business school was named the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business in recognition of the largest gift ($80 million) received by the university in its history.<ref name=Engler>{{cite web|url=http://www.wtamu.edu/news/wtamu-announces-engler-gift-as-largest-in-university-history.aspx|title=WTAMU Announces Engler Gift as Largest in University History|access-date=2019-02-11|publisher=West Texas A&M Univ.|date=November 17, 2017}}</ref>

In late 2005, Long retired from his position as the school's president, and J. Patrick O'Brien took that office in early 2006.
 
During the tenure of President O'Brien, WTAMU saw a surge of construction projects completed, including the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex, the Hayward Spirit Tower, the Charles K. and Barbara Kerr Vaughan Pedestrian Mall, the Buffalo Sports Park (including Wilder Park and Schaeffer Field), a new entrance/climbing wall and renovations in the Virgil Hensen Activity Center, Buff Hall, Centennial Hall, Founders Hall, two new parking lots, Victory Circle, the JBK Student Center Expansion, Classroom Center/WTBookstore renovation, Engineering and Computer Science Building renovation and the implementation of the WT Amarillo Center in Center City, Amarillo.
 
In January 2009, the university began its first comprehensive campaign to raise $35 million for scholarships, faculty/program support, and capital projects. The Share your Pride campaign ended in August 2014 and raised more than $50 million.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.amarillo.com/opinion/opinion-columnist/guest-columnist/2014-10-04/buffs-can-be-proud-campaign|work=Amarillo Globe News|title=Rogers: Buffs can be proud of campaign |first=Dyke|last=Rogers|date=October 4, 2014}}</ref>

The university briefly attracted national attention in 2023 when the university's president cancelled a student group's [[drag show]] on campus. Shortly thereafter, the university's faculty senate voted "[[Motion of no confidence|no confidence]]" in president Wendler, harshly criticizing his leadership beyond just that one decision.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/25/west-texas-tamu-walter-wendler-no-confidence/ |title=West Texas A&M faculty condemn university President Walter Wendler after drag show cancellation |first=Kate |last=McGee |publisher=[[The Texas Tribune]] |date=April 25, 2023 |access-date=October 3, 2023}}</ref>

During 2024 the university has banned access to gambling sites through university resources, including any WT-owned cell phones, laptops, tablets, desktops, and Wi-Fi.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-26 |title=Online gambling: West Texas A&M University blocks access to websites |url=https://focusgn.com/online-gambling-west-texas-am-university-blocks-access-to-websites |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=Focus Gaming News {{!}} Latest Gambling Industry News & Updates |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Academics==
{{Infobox US university ranking
| USNWR_REG = 83
| Wamo_MASTERSU = 266
}}
West Texas A&M University is considered a selective university with an acceptance rate of 67.4% (2014).<ref name="IR"/> The university offers 60 undergraduate programs, 38 master's programs, and two doctoral programs through its six colleges/schools and graduate school.<ref name="WTAMU Quick Facts">{{cite web|title=WTAMU Quick Facts|url=https://www.wtamu.edu/about/information/quick-facts.html|publisher=WTAMU|access-date=21 March 2021}}</ref> ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' in Best Colleges for 2021 ranked West Texas A&M University #83 in all the Regional Universities West.<ref>"[https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/west-texas-am-3665 West Texas A&M University"]. ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]''. Retrieved March 7, 2021.</ref> In 2021, ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked WTAMU #15 in U.S. and #1 in Texas for Best Online Graduate Information Technology program.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/computer-information-technology/rankings |title=US News Best Online Graduate Information Technology program |access-date=March 18, 2021}}</ref> In 2021, ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked WTAMU #18 in U.S. and #1 in Texas for Best Online Master's in Business Programs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/business/veteran-rankings |title=US News Best Online Master's in Business Programs |access-date=March 21, 2021}}</ref> WTAMU was also ranked No. 21 in U.S. and #1 in Texas for Best Online Bachelor's Programs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/bachelors/rankings |title=US News Best Online Bachelor's Programs |access-date=March 18, 2021}}</ref>

The university's Buffalo Sports Park is home to the largest grouping of synthetic athletic fields in the United States<ref name="Buffalo Sports Park">{{cite web|title=Buffalo Sports Park|url=https://www.wtamu.edu/news/universiity-officials-to-break-ground-on-buffalo-sports-park.aspx|publisher=WTAMU|access-date=21 January 2014}}</ref> and its Advanced Wind Turbine Test Facility is one of the largest testing facilities in the world for both [[wind turbine|large]] and [[small wind turbine]]s.<ref name="Advanced Wind Turbine Test Facility">{{cite web|title=Advanced Wind Turbine Test Facility|url=https://www.wtamu.edu/news/wtamu-ul-to-celebrate-grand-opening-of-advanced-wind-turbine-test-facility.aspx|access-date=21 January 2014}}</ref>

===Research===
Along with the Advanced Wind Turbine Test Facility, West Texas A&M University uses the Killgore Research Center, which houses the Attebury Honors Program, Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program, and WTAMU Academic and Research Environmental Health and Safety office, to conduct research on blood-borne pathogens, biosafety, and occupational health.<ref name="WTAMU Facilities">{{cite web|title=WTAMU Facilities |url=https://www.wtamu.edu/research/facilities/killgore-research-center.html |access-date=March 21, 2021}}</ref>

The newly renovated Palo Duro Research Facility (PDRF) opened in August 2010 promote collaborative research and alliances for research collaboration that houses Environmental Quality & Technology Research Laboratory, Environmental Labs and University Research Alliance.<ref name="Palo Duro Research Facility">{{cite web|title=Palo Duro Research Facility |url=https://www.wtamu.edu/research/facilities/palo-duro-research-facility.html |access-date=March 21, 2021}}</ref>

To help meet the research needs of the cattle industry, WTAMU operates Beef Carcass Research Center and Feedlot Research Group.<ref>{{cite web|title=Beef Carcass Research Center |url=https://www.wtamu.edu/academics/college-agriculture-natural-sciences/department-agricultural-sciences/beef-carcass-research-center.html |access-date=March 21, 2021}}</ref> WTAMU co-manages Cross Bar Cooperative Management Area, a 12,000 acre prairie site owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to facilitate outdoor research to reduce negative interactions between wildlife and people.<ref name="Cross Bar Ranch">{{cite web|title=Cross Bar Ranch |url=https://www.wtamu.edu/research/facilities/cross-bar-ranch.html |access-date=March 21, 2021}}</ref>

WTAMU also teams up with several other institutions such as the [[Alternative Energy Institute]], Athletic Training Room and Education Laboratory, Center for the Study of the American West, Computer Information Systems Software and Network Security Testing Lab, Cooperative Research, Education, and Extension Team, and Dryland Agricultural Institute to conduct research initiatives.<ref name="WTAMU Research">{{cite web|title=WTAMU Research |url=https://www.wtamu.edu/research/facilities/index.html |access-date=March 21, 2021}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{| class="wikitable floatright sortable collapsible"; text-align:right; font-size:80%;"
|+ style="font-size:90%" |Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2023<ref>{{cite web |title= College Scorecard: West Texas A & M University|url=https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?229814-West-Texas-A-M-University|website=College Scorecard |publisher=[[United States Department of Education]] |access-date=June 30, 2025 }}</ref>
|-
! Race and ethnicity
! colspan="2" data-sort-type=number |Total
|-
| [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian]]/[[Alaska Native]]
|align=right| {{bartable|1|%|2||background:yellow}}
|-
| [[Non-Hispanic whites|White]]
|align=right| {{bartable|51|%|2||background:cyan}}
|-
| [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]]
|align=right| {{bartable|34|%|2||background:green}}
|-
| [[African Americans|Black]]
|align=right| {{bartable|4|%|2||background:purple}}
|-
| Unknown
|align=right| {{bartable|4|%|2||background:grey}} 
|-
| [[Multiracial Americans|Two or more races]]
|align=right| {{bartable|3|%|2||background:violet}}
|-
| [[Asian Americans|Asian]]
|align=right| {{bartable|2|%|2||background:orange}}
|-
| [[International student]]
|align=right| {{bartable|2|%|2||background:#008080}}
|-
! colspan="4" data-sort-type=number |[[Economic diversity]]
|-
| [[American lower class|Low-income]]{{efn|The percentage of students who received an income-based federal [[Pell grant]] intended for low-income students.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|43|%|2||background:red}}
|-
| [[Affluence in the United States|Affluent]]{{efn|The percentage of students who are a part of the [[American middle class]] at the bare minimum.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|57|%|2||background:black}}
|}
{{Infobox
 |name         = West Texas A&M University
 |bodystyle    =

 |titlestyle   = 
 |abovestyle = background:#cfc;
 |subheaderstyle =
 |title        = WTAMU student demographics<ref name="Facts"/>
 |above        = Gender, age, ethnicity, and geographic origin (fall 2020)
 |subheader    = 
 |subheader2   =

 |imagestyle   = 
 |captionstyle = 
 |  image      = 
 |caption      =

 |headerstyle  = background:#ccf;
 |labelstyle   = background:#ddf;
 |datastyle    =

 |header1 = Gender
 | label1 = 
 |  data1 = 
 |header2 = 
 | label2 = Female
 |  data2 = 5,878
 |header3 = 
 | label3 = Male
 |  data3 = 4,173
 |header4 = Age
 | label4 = 
 |  data4 = 
 |header5 =
 | label5 = Average age
 |  data5 = 26
 |header6 = Ethnicity
 | label6 = 
 |  data6 = 
 |header7 = 
 | label7 = White
 |  data7 = 55.97%
 |header8 = 
 | label8 = Hispanic
 |  data8 = 28.71%
 |header9 = 
 | label9 = African American
 |  data9 = 5.34%
 |header10 =
 | label10 = Asian American
 |  data10 = 2.97%
 |header11 =
 | label11 = Native American
 |  data11 = 0.49%
 |header12 =
 | label12 = Pacific Islander
 |  data12 = 0.12%
 |header13 =
 | label13 = International
 |  data13 = 2.30%
 |header14 =
 | label14 = Two or more races listed
 |  data14 = 3.07%
 |header15 =
 | label15 = Other/unknown
 |  data15 = 1.01%
 |header16 = Geographic origin
 | label16 = 
 |  data16 = 
 |header17 =
 | label17 = Texas
 |  data17 = 79.9%
 |header18 =
 | label18 = Out-of-state
 |  data18 = 17.77%
 |header19 =
 | label19 = International
 |  data19 = 2.33%

 |belowstyle = background:#ddf;
 |below      = 
}}

West Texas A&M University has a student body with almost 56% of it being female and 40% being made up by [[minorities]]. An overwhelming number of the student body are native Texans (80%), while around 285 students are from other countries.<ref name="Facts"/>

==Campus==

[[File:West Texas A&M University, Jack B. Kelley Student Center, 2014.jpg|thumb|left|West Texas A&M University Jack B. Kelley Student Center]]The Jack B. Kelley Student Center is home to The Legends Club, Starbucks, a Chick-fil-a Express, a Which Wich, a Sharky's Burrito Company, and a convenience store.<ref name="WTAMU Campus Facilities">{{cite web |url=http://wtamu.edu/about/facilities.aspx |title=West Texas A&M University|work=wtamu.edu|access-date=24 June 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Canyon Texas West Texas AandM University Classroom Center Building 2005-03-30.jpg|thumb|right|West Texas A&M Classroom Center building]]
The Classroom Center was built in 1968. The four-story building contains classrooms, computer and writing labs, and faculty offices. The College of Business and the Department of English and Modern Languages are located in the Classroom Center. The Classroom Center had its reopening on August 24, 2009, for the start of the fall semester.

[[Mary Moody Northen]] Hall accommodates music studios, dance studios, a public art gallery, recital hall, art studios, computer labs, and classrooms.

<!-- The Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex, completed in September 2006, is the home of the Department of Communication and Department of Art, Theatre, and Dance. The facility houses classrooms, music studios, music halls, a proscenium theatre, an experimental theatre, the school newspaper newsroom, a television studio, broadcast editing suites, and the student-run radio studios.

 -->The Agriculture and Sciences Building was constructed in 1974. The three-story building houses the Division of Agriculture and the Department of Life, Earth, and Environmental Sciences. The building contains classrooms, laboratories, and faculty offices. The Agricultural Sciences Complex opened in the summer of 2018. Located in the northeast corner of campus, the facility is almost 160,000 square feet and includes classrooms, labs, offices, a meats lab, agriculture event center, and a pavilion for animal showing, handling, and evaluation. The Agriculture program was named the '''Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences''' in 2017, in honor of the largest gift in the university's history.<ref name=Globe-Engler>{{cite news|work=Amarillo Globe-News|date=November 18, 2017|title=Ag legend Paul Engler makes WT history with biggest gift|author=Stein, Robert|access-date=2019-02-11|url=https://www.amarillo.com/news/local-news/business/2017-11-18/ag-legend-paul-engler-makes-wt-history-biggest-gift}}</ref>

The Engineering and Computer Sciences Building was renovated in 2011 and again in 2017. It is home to the College of Engineering.

A veteran's war memorial is expected to be revealed on Memorial Day 2018.

The Texas history museum, [[Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum]], has been located on the campus of West Texas A&M University since the early 1930s.

=== Amarillo Center ===
The WTAMU Amarillo Center is located on the 10th and 11th floors of the Chase building in Amarillo, Texas. A permanent campus is being built at 8th Avenue and South Tyler Street, starting with the Commerce Building, which is planned to open in the fall of 2018. The new facility will be home to the WTAMU Center for Learning Disabilities, Speech and Hearing Clinic, Panhandle Area Health Education Center, Small Business Development Center, Licensed Professional Counseling, social work program, psychology program, special education program, and instructional technology program.

==Athletics==
{{main|West Texas A&M Buffaloes}}
[[File:West Texas A&M Athletics logo.svg|thumb|150px|WTAMU Athletics logo]]
West Texas A&M athletic teams are the Buffaloes (or simply called the "Buffs," while the women's teams are known as the "Lady Buffs"). The university is a member of the [[NCAA Division II|Division II]] level of the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] (NCAA), primarily competing in the [[Lone Star Conference]] (LSC) since the 1994–95 academic year; which they were a member on a previous stint from 1986–87 to 1990–91.

West Texas A&M competes in 14 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track & field and volleyball.

=== Softball ===
The Lady Buffs softball team won the [[NCAA Division II Softball Championship|2014 NCAA Division II national championship]] in Salem, Virginia. The team was coached by Kevin Blaskowski and led on the field by Alyssa Lemos, Renee Erwin, and Rita Hokianga.

In 2021 West Texas A&M won back-to-back games in the D-II softball national championship series to win the 2021 national championship.

==Notable faculty and alumni==
{{summarize|from|List of West Texas A&M University people|section=y|date=October 2023}}

{{main|List of West Texas A&M University people}}

== Notes ==
{{noteslist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Handbook of Texas|id=kcw03|name=West Texas A&M University}}. Accessed on October 8, 2005.

== External links ==
{{commons cat}}
* {{Official website}}
* [https://gobuffsgo.com/ Athletics website]

{{Texas A&M University System}}
{{Lone Star Conference navbox}}
{{Public universities in Texas}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:West Texas AandM University}}
[[Category:West Texas A&M University| ]]
[[Category:1910 establishments in Texas]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Randall County, Texas]]
[[Category:Education in Randall County, Texas]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges established in 1910]]
[[Category:Texas A&M University System]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools]]
[[Category:Public universities and colleges in Texas]]