Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public, coeducational, research university located in Lubbock, Texas. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the sixth largest student body in the state of Texas. It is the only school in Texas to house an undergraduate institution, law school, and medical school at the same location. Initial enrollment in 1925 was 910 students;[1] as of 2009, the university has 30,049 students from more than 110 countries, all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.[2] Since its first graduating class in 1927 of 26 students, Texas Tech has awarded more than 221,000 degrees, including 45,000 graduate and professional degrees to its alumni.[3] The Texas Tech Alumni Association, with over 27,000 members, operates more than 120 chapters in cities throughout the United States and the world.[4][5]
Throughout Texas Tech's history, alumni have played prominent roles in many different fields. Among the university's Distinguished Alumni is Demetrio B. Lakas, President of the Republic of Panama from 1969 to 1978.[6][7] Three United States Governors, Daniel I. J. Thornton, Governor of Colorado from 1951 to 1955, John Burroughs, Governor of New Mexico from 1959 to 1961, and Preston Smith, Governor of Texas from 1968 to 1972, are graduates of the university.[8][9][10] Five astronauts, including Rick Husband, the final commander of Space Shuttle Columbia and recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.[11][12][Note 1]U.S. Marine Corps Major and Medal of Honor recipient, George H. O'Brien, Jr., is a distinguished alumnus.[13] Richard E. Cavazos is a two-time Distinguished Service Cross recipient and the first Hispanic and Mexican American to advance to the rank of four-star general in the U.S. Army.[14] The school's influence on the business world is seen in such people as General Motors Chairman and CEO Edward Whitacre, Jr., Finisar CEO Jerry S. Rawls, Belo Corporation CEO Dunia A. Shive, and ExxonMobil board member Angela Braly, ranked by Fortune magazine as the most powerful woman in business.[15][16][17][18][19] Others among the university's alumni are folk rocker John Denver, country singer Pat Green, and actor George Eads.[20][21][22]John Hinckley, Jr., who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1981, attended the university sporadically from 1973 to 1980.[23]
Alumni
"—" indicates that class year is unknown.
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Journalist and political consultant; served as press secretary to Texas Governor Preston Smith; instrumental in the creation of the Texas Film Commission
21st Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; former 22nd Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, first African-American to become a service chief.
First non-astronaut Capsule Communicator (Capcom), first Russian-training-integration instructor, and first Hispanic female NASA Flight Director at NASA
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^Bennett, George (1970). "Smooth Empirical Bayes Estimation with Application to the Weibull Distribution" (PDF). Retrieved May 16, 2023. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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^ George Watson. "Rawls College of Business to Recognize Four Distinguished Alumni". Texas Tech Today. Texas Tech University. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
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^"98.1 KVET - The Genuine Austin Original". Kvet.com. Archived from the original on 2008-10-13. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
^Lim, Jon. "Jordan Smith on How Becoming a Maestro at the Pivot Led to a Great Career as a Conductor". Moving Forward. Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
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^"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2010-05-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) IPO.org
^Belkin, Lisa (1990-01-20). "Woman Named Police Chief of Houston". The New York Times.
^Molter, Nicole (February 26, 2012). "1984 Pulitzer Prize winner presents lecture at Tech". DailyToreador.com. The Daily Toreador. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
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^Kerns, William (September 24, 2005). "Texas Tech's 'The Dirk West Exhibit' homage to a Lubbock original". Lubbockonline.com. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
^"Rear Admiral John D. Alexander Assistant Commander, Navy Personnel Command(PERS-4)". Navy.mil. United States Navy. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
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^Goldstein, Richard (2005-03-21). "George H. O'Brien Jr., 78; Was Awarded Medal of Honor". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
^Michael, Karen (March 23, 2018). "Texas Tech honors Medal of Honor recipients". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Gannett. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
^"Developing adaptive leaders: The crucible experience of Operation Iraqi Freedom" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 1, 2020. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
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^Francis F. Muguet, M.S. (May 1992). Investigations of Diffuse Intermolecular Electronic Systems(PDF). Texas Tech University. Retrieved July 10, 2011.[permanent dead link]
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^Schudel, Matt (2007-12-24). "Terry Yates, 57; biologist found source of hantavirus". The Boston Globe.
^ abcdeAndrews, Ruth Horn (1956). The First Thirty Years: a History of Texas Technological College. Lubbock, Texas: The Texas Tech Press. p. 357.
^ ab"Rawls College of Business to Honor Outstanding Alumni". Texas Tech University. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
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^6th Dr. Stella M Traweek visiting professor in Geriatric Pain Department of Anesthesiology, Texas Tech University, Health Science Center, 20 March 2000. Texas, USA