Bobcats of the past forged a path for future opportunity
Since Texas State University first opened the doors of Old Main, courageous individuals and groups have blazed new trails for all Bobcats to pursue their dreams of higher education.
TXST didn’t start out as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, but Elena Zamora O’Shea set the groundwork for this distinction in 1906 when she enrolled as the first Latino student at Southwest Texas State Normal School. She turned her education into a successful 23-year teaching career and penned the novel El Mesquite, a sweeping account of Tejano history and folklore and a valued contribution to both Texas and Mexican American letters.
Since Zamora’s time, TXST’s Hispanic enrollment has grown to more than 15,700 students and now makes up 41% of the student population. The U.S. Department of Education designated TXST a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in 2011, with Hispanics comprising at least 25% of undergraduate enrollment ever since.
“Hispanic-Serving Institutions, if you think about it more generally, extend opportunities to everyone equally,” said Dr. Bob Vásquez, chair of the HSI Community Council at TXST. “They provide an opportunity where there wasn’t one before. Texas State is a place where all are welcome, and we have room for you.”
Following Zamora O’Shea, future Bobcats celebrated their Hispanic roots by forming groups such as El Ateneo Club, which explored Mexican culture, in 1934; the Association for Mexican-American Students; and mariachi ensembles Nueva Generación and Mariachi Lince de Oro, which started in the 1990s. On the faculty side, Dr. Roberto A. Galván became the first Latino with a doctoral degree to be hired at Southwest Texas State College in 1964.
Pictured from left to right: El Ateneo Club (1935), a student group that explored Mexican American culture; the Association for Mexican-American Students (1978); dancers at a celebration for TXST's 10th anniversary celebration of its HSI designation (2021); and Mariachi Nueva Generación performing at a Dia de los Muertos celebration (2024).
Dr. Galván was the first Latino Ph.D. to be hired at TXST in 1964. Among many accomplishments, he served as coordinator for the Spanish Department for 11 years, advised five student organizations, and obtained new scholarships for the Spanish and Music departments.
While Zamora O’Shea attended TXST within the institution’s first decade, Black students didn’t arrive on campus until the 1960s. Known as the “First Five,” Dana Jean Smith, Georgia Faye Hoodye, Gloria Odoms, Mabeleen Washington, and Helen Jackson enrolled within hours of a federal judge’s Feb. 4, 1963, ruling that forced Southwest Texas State to admit Black students in response to a class-action lawsuit filed by Smith.
From left to right, Dana Jean Smith, Helen Jackson Franks, Georgia Hoodye Cheatham, Gloria Odoms Powell, and Mabeleen Washington pictured at an event held in their honor by TXST in 2014.
African Americans also created organizations to make the most of their college experiences. In the 1971–72 school year, Black students Thomas Carter and Eugene Lee—who both went on to distinguished careers in film and theater—co-founded the Ebony Players after noticing the lack of roles for Black students in college productions. Known for the quality of their productions, the group was invited to perform A Raisin in the Sun at Lyndon B. Johnson State Park on July 22, 1972, for a crowd of almost 500 people, including former President Johnson.
In 1975, Kenneth Worthing Tucker joined the Department of Curriculum and Instruction as the first Black faculty member at SWT. In 1983, Dr. Elvin Holt began teaching at SWT and later became the first Black tenured professor in the Department of English. Holt earned several teaching awards over his 37-year career, and in 2021, TXST named Elvin Holt Drive in honor of his work in multicultural curriculum development.
The first tenured Black professor in the Department of English, Dr. Holt taught from 1983 to 2020 and earned multiple teaching awards in his 37 years at TXST.
“It takes courage to be a trailblazer because there is no blueprint before you,” said Dr. Terrance McClain, president of the Coalition of Black Faculty and Staff at TXST. “There were many roadblocks in the midst of these opportunities. Yet, they continued to move forward with future generations in mind.”
Minority students, faculty, and staff members continue to make contributions to the academics, culture, and community of Texas State. Student organizations such as the Hip Hop Congress, the Korean Culture Club, and the Model Arab League provide a range of activities to appeal to students from all backgrounds.
After a series of “firsts” throughout TXST’s 125-year history, Bobcats continue to carry forward the torch of opportunity passed to them by the trailblazers who came before.
