Southwestern University history

Its charter was revived in 1872 with the formation of Southwestern.

In 1873, the union of these four institutions opened in Georgetown as Texas University.

The school was renamed (from Texas University to Southwestern University) so that the earlier name could be reserved for a planned state public university (UT, which first opened in 1883).

Legendary folklorist and author J. Frank Dobie graduated in 1910 and went on to national acclaim.

Establishing the nation’s first chapter of Alpha Chi, in 1922, growing out of a Scholarship Society.

The merger, in 1926, of the Winfield College of Music with Southwestern, an event that further augmented already-strong performing arts programs.

Established in 1939, Special Collections creates physical and virtual spaces to experience the history of Southwestern University and Texas as well as the heritage of the printed and written word.

The annual Brown Symposium was established in 1977.

As the University’s reputation grew, so did its enrollment, which reached 1,000 students by 1978.

The opening in 1994 of the first Professional Studies Center, a storefront in downtown Winfield.

Financially, Southwestern was the beneficiary of The Brown Foundation of Houston, Inc.’s Matching Challenge, which concluded in 1995 with 34% of alumni participating.

In January 2010 to further its goal to become carbon neutral, Southwestern signed an agreement with the City of Georgetown to get all of its electricity for the next 18 years exclusively from wind power.

Graduate degrees are offered both on the main campus and through Professional Studies, with the college enrolling its first doctoral students (Doctorate in Educational Leadership) in 2012.

Former university president Edward B. Burger stepped down in January 2020 and assumed the role of president and CEO of St David's foundation.