Austin College

Austin College is the oldest institution of higher learning in the State of Texas. Established in 1849, Austin Collect is just north of Dallas, sitting on a 100 acre environmentally green campus in Sherman Texas. Austin College is a recognized leader in higher education for innovative programs, a strong faculty, and dedicated students. Since it’s founding by the Brazos Presbytery, Austin College has been associated with the Presbyterian Church. The covenant relationship the College maintains today with the Presbyterian Church provides a distinctive flavor to the life of the College.

Austin College ’Roo Boo Set for October 25

BJ Kirkpatrick Austin College, News 10/23/201707/23/2025

The 18th annual ’Roo Boo at Austin College, hosted by the local chapter of Alpha Phi Omega national service fraternity, will be held Wednesday, October 25, from 6 to 8 p.m. in Sid Richardson Center of the Robert T. Mason Athletic-Recreation Complex, off Brockett Street and just east of the football stadium.

The theme for this year’s family-friendly event is American Hor Roo-r Story. Children 12 and younger are invited to wear their costumes and participate in this free event. Parental supervision is required. Austin College Police will be on patrol during the event.

The event is a safe alternative to traditional trick-or-treating and will offer a bounce house, animal balloons, and various games, booths, and prizes offered by campus organizations. Plenty of free candy is available for participants. Austin College student volunteers, representing more than 55 student organizations, will be dressed in costume for the Halloween celebration.

Alpha Phi Omega is founded on the principles of leadership, friendship, and service, said Shirley Banh, a junior from Garland, Texas, and coordinator of this year’s event. “This event allows college students with a deep-rooted love for volunteering and heart for community service to invest their time for a night of fun and plenty of candy for the families in the Texoma community.”

In 2016, more than 1,200 people attended the event, which was served by more than 250 campus volunteers.

Local businesses are asked to make donations of candy and gift certificates for the Austin College event by contacting Alpha Phi Omega event coordinator Shirley Banh at abanh15@austincollege.edu or call the Office of Public Affairs at903.813.2891.

Roo Boo Game Roo Boo Buterfly Game

Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 36 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of 1,250 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.

Austin College Hosts Alumna Art Show

BJ Kirkpatrick Austin College, News 10/18/201707/23/2025

The Austin College Department of Art and Art History hosts the exhibit “Borrowed Whimsy” by Brianna M. Burnett now through November 10 in Ida Green Gallery of Ida Green Communication Center at 1201 E. Brockett Street, Sherman. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Department of Art and Art History at 903.813.2048.

Burnett, a 2002 graduate of Austin College, is a fine art photographer who lives and works in Dallas. Her photography is a collection of images that reference storytelling, mythology, and narrative. Motivated by landscape, history, and the culture of her surroundings, she integrates these concepts into photographs that are studies of historical and personal narrative.

She earned an MFA in photography and sculpture from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. She exhibits in solo and group exhibits across the U.S. She is currently a full-time faculty member at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh online program. She also is a visiting assistant professor of art at Austin College.

Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 40 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of approximately 1,275 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.

Austin College Hosts Arts Exhibit: “Elements of Place”

BJ Kirkpatrick Austin College, News 10/15/201707/23/2025

The Austin College Art and Art History Department will host the exhibit “Laura J. Lawson: Elements of Place” now to December 8 in the Dennis Gallery of the Forster Art Complex, 1313 N. Richards Street, Sherman. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For additional information, call the Art and Art History Department at 903.813.2048. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Lawson lived all over Texas growing up and frequent family road trips fueled her love of exploration. While earning a bachelor’s degree from AustinCollege, her studies took her to Scotland, China, France, Peru, and Ecuador, and she traveled to New Orleans and Chicago after graduation. She earnedher MFA from the University of Memphis and spent two months in residency at the Centre d’Art Marnay Art Center (CAMAC) in France. She has sincereturned to Dallas.

Her residency on the banks of the Seine in Marnay-sur-Seine helped Lawson explore ways of thinking about place. Though nearly 5,000 miles away, the area sometimes reminded her of American towns she knew, including Sherman. Rather than create works about the people and cultures of the places,she was compelled to investigate the physical landscapes, which existed before the places were ever settled. The places are examined in her exhibitthrough a satellite view, an atmospheric view, and a navigational view.

The satellite view paintings explore how land and water shape the landscape and form significant relationships for these regions: the Seine is a majorartery for France, and the Red River feeds the Mississippi watershed. The atmospheric paintings investigate Lawson’s personal observations of beingpresent in the place. The colors and patterns tie directly to light, water, soil, building materials, wildlife, and other elements that make the area what it is.The navigational view uses regional maps that Lawson has cut into miniature webs of roads. These sculptural drawings highlight years of human effort tomake these regions both navigable and livable.

“Ultimately, the physical elements that make up Sherman and Marnay-sur-Seine are the seeds from which their people grew,” Lawson said. “Culturalways of living can (and should!) cross borders, but the landscape itself can never be truly replicated.”

Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 40 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of approximately 1,275 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.