历史

约翰W. Gates of New York City, one of the founders of Texaco, established Port Arthur Business 大学 in 1909, to train people for the petrochemical industry, then in 起步阶段. The college became Port Arthur Collegiate Institute in 1911, when the school was presented to the Board of Education of the Methodist Episcopal Church North, a forerunner of the present United Methodist Temple. The church operated the growing campus until 1918, when it was turned over to a non-profit Texas corporation. 这 corporation had no capital stock and was overseen by a self-perpetuating board of 受托人. The 名字 of the school was changed back to Port Arthur Business 大学 and finally, in 1932, to Port Arthur 大学.

On July 31, 1974, another milestone in the school's history was reached. W. 山姆·梦露 then President of Port Arthur 大学 and a Lamar 大学 regent, presented his fellow members of the Lamar board a resolution seeking merger of Port Arthur 大学 进入拉马尔大学. The 21 受托人 of the school agreed that the merger would be in the best interests of both institutions and their constituencies.

The 64th Legislature of the State of Texas authorized the merger and appropriated $600,000 for creation of the Lamar 大学 Center at Port Arthur. 8月. 21, 1975, the 受托人 presented the deed for Port Arthur 大学 to the Lamar 大学 Board 评议. Classes began on the Port Arthur campus on Aug. 28, 1975. 自从合并以来 in 1975, enrollment increased from 151 students to a peak of more than 3,000 and the curriculum has been expanded to more than 50 areas of study. In 1977, the 65th Legislature approved House Bill 1134 renaming the campus as Lamar 大学-Port Arthur; the "Extension Center" designation was dropped. In 1983, the 68th Legislature passed three bills which directly affected the college:

  1. Senate Bill 409 in effect deleted the restrictive language of H.B. 130(通过) 1971 by the 63rd Legislature), thereby making Lamar 大学-Port Arthur eligible, on an equal basis with other state institutions, for state funds to be utilized in the purchase of land and/or buildings.
  2. Senate Bill 410 provided Lamar 大学 regents with the authority to levy a fixed student fee and the authority to bond against said fee for construction of a student center building on the Port Arthur campus. 这 legislation was validated by a majority vote of the Lamar 大学-Port Arthur student body in November 1983.
  3. Senate Bill 620 created the Lamar 大学 System. Lamar 大学-Port Arthur thus became a component institution of that system on Aug. 29, 1983.

In 1985, two bills affected the school:

  1. Senate Bill 578 in 1985 provided that Lamar 大学-Port Arthur should be re名字d a beneficiary institution and receive funds through the Higher Education Assistance 基金.
  2. The General Appropriations Act of 1985 directed that a formula be developed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to provide operational funding to Lamar 大学-Port Arthur on the same basis as other state-supported institutions of 高等教育.
    • Senate Bill 78 in 1989 removed restrictions imposed by earlier legislation on the acquisition of real estate and the construction of facilities on campus.
    • Senate Bill 843 in 1991 clarified the issue of degree-granting authority by granting permission for Lamar 大学-Port Arthur to issue associate degrees in its own 名字. 有效的9月. 1, 1995, by action of the Texas Legislature, the Lamar 大学 System was abolished and Lamar 大学-Port Arthur along with sister institutions in Orange and Beaumont joined The Texas State 大学 System. 在奥斯汀设有办事处， TSUS includes Sam Houston State 大学, Texas State 大学, and Sul Ross State 大学.

House Bill 1297 was signed into law in June 1999, changing the 名字 of the institution to Lamar State 大学-Port Arthur.

Lamar State 大学 - Port Arthur is a member of The Texas State 大学 System and an equal opportunity/affirmative action educational institution.