EAST TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY

public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Commerce, Texas, U.S., with branch campuses in Mesquite and Texarkana. It consists of the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business and Technology, and Education. The university offers over 100 fields of study in 26 departments. Campus facilities include an instructional farm, an art gallery, and Zeppa Recreational and Workout Center. There is a commuter campus in Garland. Total enrollment exceeds 8,000. The university began in 1889 as the privately held East Texas Normal School in Cooper, Texas. Five years later the college was moved to Commerce. The state of Texas took control of the campus in 1917 and changed the name to East Texas State Normal College. It was made a teachers college in 1923 and in 1935 began offering graduate-level courses. The college continued to grow, adding a doctorate program in 1962, and it was elevated to university standing in 1965.