Hardin–Simmons University (HSU) is a

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Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

university in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor County, Texas, Taylor and Jones County, Texas, Jones counties, Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan ar ...

, United States. It is affiliated with the

Baptist General Convention of Texas The Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT), more commonly known as the Texas Baptists, is a Baptist Christian denomination in the U.S. state of Texas. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Baptist World Alliance. Tex ...

History

Hardin–Simmons University was founded as Abilene Baptist College in 1891 by the Sweetwater Baptist Association and a group of cattlemen and pastors who sought to bring Christian higher education to the Southwest. The purpose of the school would be "to lead students to Christ, teach them of Christ, and train them for Christ." The original land was donated to the university by rancher C.W. Merchant. The school was renamed Simmons College in 1892 in honor of an early contributor, James B. Simmons. By 1907 it claimed an enrollment of 524 and a staff of 49. In 1925, it became Simmons University. It was renamed Hardin–Simmons University in 1934 in honor of Mary and John G. Hardin, who were also major contributors. The university has been associated with the

since 1941. The university publicly experienced financial challenges in the late 2010s, continuing into 2020 as the state and the Baptist General Convention of Texas reduced the funding levels of programs in which the university participates. In 2018, the university ended nine undergraduate and four graduate programs and closed five campus extensions (Logsdon Seminary campuses in Coppell, Lubbock, Corpus Christi and McAllen; Acton MBA Program in Austin). These changes also included terminations of staff and faculty. Two years later, in 2020, the university announced that it would close Logsdon Seminary and end an additional 22 academic programs with accompanying terminations of staff and faculty. The university was granted an exception to

Title IX Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receiv ...

in 2016 which allows it to legally discriminate against LGBT students for religious reasons.

Presidents

* 1892–1894 W.C. Friley * 1894–1898 George O. Thatcher * 1898–1901 O.C. Pope * 1901–1902 C.R. Hairfield * 1902–1909 Oscar Henry Cooper * 1909–1940 Jefferson Davis Sandefer Sr. * 1940–1940 Lucian Q. Campbell (acting president) * 1940–1943 William R. White * 1943–1953 Rupert N. Richardson–Wrote the personal reflection, Famous Are Thy Halls: Hardin–Simmons University As I Have Known It (1964) * 1953–1962 Evan Allard Reiff * 1962–1963 George L. Graham (interim) * 1963–1966 James H. Landes * 1966–1977 Elwin L. Skiles * 1977–1991 Jesse C. Fletcher * 1991–2001 Lanny Hall * 2001–2008 W. Craig Turner * 2009–2016 Lanny Hall * 2016– Eric Bruntmyer

Academics

HSU offers six undergraduate degrees with 70 majors, and seven graduate degrees with 18 programs. Pre-professional programs include

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...

physical therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

, and

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

. HSU offers courses in geography, Greek, Hebrew, humanities, and physical sciences, as well. The university offers a doctorate in

, the first in Texas which is open to private citizens, as well as Doctor of Education (Ed.D.). HSU students come from diverse backgrounds and a variety of

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

s. With an approximate enrollment of 1,500 students, the student-to-teacher ratio was 33:1.

Rankings

In 2016, '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Hardin-Simmons 33 among Regional Universities in the West. That same year, ''

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'' included the university among its Best Western Colleges. In 2016

Campus Pride Campus Pride is an American national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded by M. Chad Wilson, Sarah E. Holmes and Shane L. Windmeyer in 2001 which serves lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and ally student leaders and/or campus o ...

ranked the university among the worst schools in Texas for LGBT students.

Campus life

Chapel services are held weekly for the entire student body. Neighborhood outreach programs are also available in which students can participate. Baptist Student Ministries (BSM) offers free noon lunches for students every Wednesday. The BSM provides possibilities for students to get involved in Bible study groups and go on mission trips, in addition to hosting concerts and other campus events. Campus resources include career services, a writing center, academic advisors, library services, faculty mentors, disability services, health services, peer mentors, and counseling. HSU's grounds include six residence halls and eight apartment complexes as well as campus houses. Campus infrastructure is built in classic brick architecture, and the school's golden-domed, red brick clock tower serves as its signature building, along with the 30 by 41-ft stained glass wall of Logsdon chapel, on the campus' southeast corner. HSU was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful Christian Colleges and Universities in 2017.

Western Heritage Day

Western Heritage Day is an annual celebration of the heritage and way of life in the American frontier that has occurred since the Abilene Centennial Celebration in 1981. The event is held on the HSU campus and includes activities such as trick roping, pit branding, chuck wagon snacks, and a small farm animal petting area. The activities have become a fun educational opportunity for Abilene-area elementary school-aged children.

Athletics

The Hardin–Simmons athletic teams are called the ''Cowboys/Cowgirls''. The university is a member of the Division III level of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA), primarily competing in the

American Southwest Conference The American Southwest Conference (ASC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference, founded in 1996, whose member schools compete in the NCAA's Division III. All member schools are located in the state of Texas. The conference competes in baseb ...

since the 1996–97 academic year. had won 75 conference titles, the most of any school. The Cowboys/Cowgirls also competed in the Division III-based Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) from 1990–91 to 1995–96. Hardin–Simmons previously competed as a member of the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association (BIAA; also known as the "Border Conference") from 1941–42 to 1961–62, during which time the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

won three conference championships. For the first 15 years after HSU restarted its football program (1990–2005), the Hardin–Simmons Cowboy football team had the best winning percentage (77.4%) of all Texan college football programs. Also, the men's basketball team won two Border Conference titles, in 1953 and 1957, advancing to the NCAA basketball tournament each time. The Cowboys are one of fourteen teams to have played in the tournament and no longer be in Division I; they are also one of five such teams to have appeared in more than one tournament. Hardin–Simmons competes in 16 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball.

Women's soccer

Hardin–Simmons women's soccer has been HSU's single-most successful athletic program with 22 ASC Conference Championships in the 1996-2019 period, and an NCAA Division III National Championship title in 2010.

Notable alumni

* Naim Ateek — Palestinian theologian * John Leland Atwood — former chief engineer for

North American Aviation North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F- ...

, instrumental in the production of the

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and

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served ...

* Owen J. Baggett - American pilot famous for shooting down an aircraft with his pistol * Earl Bennett — former NFL football player *

Dan Blocker Bobby Dan Davis Blocker (December 10, 1928 – May 13, 1972) was an American television actor and Korean War veteran, who played Hoss Cartwright in the NBC Western fiction, Western television series ''Bonanza''. Biography Early life Blocker was ...

— attended one year before transferring to Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. Played the role of 'Hoss' on the 1960s American TV show ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'' * Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson —

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legend * Omar Burleson – represented Abilene in the United States Congress from

Texas's 17th congressional district Texas's 17th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives includes a strip of Central Texas and Deep East Texas stretching from Nacogdoches, Texas, Nacogdoches to Waco, Texas, Waco and Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock, incl ...

from 1947 to 1978. * Harvey Catchings — former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

basketball player * Matt Chandler – pastor of Village Church and president of Acts 29 Network * Gene Cockrell — American football player * Don Collier —

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and television actor *

Roy Crane Royston Campbell Crane (November 22, 1901 – July 7, 1977), who signed his work Roy Crane, was an American cartoonist who created the comic strip characters Wash Tubbs, Captain Easy and Buz Sawyer. He pioneered the adventure comic strip, estab ...

— cartoonist (''Wash Tubbs'', ''Captain Easy'') * Andrew C. Creager - Deputy Chief, Dallas Fire Department * Jack Graham — pastor, Prestonwood Baptist Church, former president of the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...

* Terri Hendrix - singer-songwriter * Stedman Graham — businessman and speaker, long-time partner of

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

* Jeff Iorg — president of the Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary * Jack T. Martin — American collegiate basketball player/coach, former Brevet Brigadier General Texas Air National Guard * W. Francis McBeth — composer * Bob McChesney — American football player * Mildred Paxton Moody – journalist, preservationist, and First Lady of Texas, 1927–1931 * Dick Nagy - Long-time University of Illinois basketball assistant coach and founder of the basketball program at Barton County Community College *

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— portrayed

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in the ''Davy Crockett'' miniseries on

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's ABC

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and

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's ''

'' * Leighton Paige Patterson — former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and former president of

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is a Baptist theological institute in Fort Worth, Texas. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It was established in 1908 and in 2005 was one of the largest seminaries in the wor ...

*Rupert N. Richardson — president of Hardin–Simmons from 1943 to 1953 * Harold Stephens — professional football player * Clyde "Bulldog" Turner — member of the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

* Brad Underwood — head men's basketball coach at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

* Will Wagner — head football coach at

Angelo State University Angelo State University is a public university in San Angelo, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1928 as San Angelo College. It gained university status and awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1967 and graduate degrees in 1969, the s ...

* George E. "Buddy" West — former Texas state representative * Willis Whitfield — inventor of the

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* Phil Wilson — former

Secretary of State of Texas The secretary of state of Texas is one of the six members of the executive department of the State of Texas in the United States. Under the Constitution of Texas, the appointment is made by the governor of Texas, with confirmation by the Texa ...

* C. V. Wood — developer of

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s and

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; chief developer of

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

Notable faculty

* Wayne Millner (1913–1976), American football player * Norma Wendelburg, composer

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardin-Simmons University Universities and colleges in Abilene, Texas Liberal arts colleges in Texas Private universities and colleges in Texas Universities and colleges affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas Universities and colleges established in 1891 1891 establishments in Texas Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools