Baylor University

Baylor University is an independent coeducational Baptist institution of higher learning located in Waco, Texas. It is the largest Baptist university in the world and oldest university chartered by the Republic of Texas (1845).

History

The university was chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas under Republic President Anson Jones, and opened at Independence, Texas as a coeducational institution. Its founders were Reverend William Milton Tryon, Reverend James Huckins, and Judge Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor, the University's namesake. Six years later, Baylor's second president Rufus Burleson decided to separate the men from the women, and thus the Baylor Female College branched off from the main university, while Baylor University became an all-male institution. The city of Independence began suffering a decline due to the rise of neighboring cities serviced by the Santa Fe Railroad, so beginning in 1885, Baylor University moved to Waco, Texas, and merged with Waco University, where Baylor's former second president Rufus Burleson was serving as president. That same year, the Baylor Female College moved to Belton, Texas and would later become known as the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. A Baylor College Park still exists in Independence as a memory of the bygone era.

Related Topics:
1845 - Republic of Texas - Anson Jones - Independence, Texas - Coeducational - Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor - Rufus Burleson - Santa Fe Railroad - 1885 - Waco University - Belton, Texas - University of Mary Hardin-Baylor

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Around 1887, Baylor University began readmitting women, becoming a coeducational institution once again.

Related Topics:
1887 - Coeducational

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In 1900, three physicians founded the "University of Dallas Medical Department", in Dallas, Texas, despite the fact that a "University of Dallas" did not exist. In 1903, it was acquired by Baylor University and became known as the Baylor College of Medicine, remaining in Dallas. In 1943, Dallas civic leaders wanted to build larger facilities for the university in a new medical center, but only if the College of Medicine would surrender its denominational alliances with the General Baptist Convention. Baylor refused, and with funding from the M.D. Anderson Foundation and others, the College of Medicine moved to Houston, Texas. In 1969, the Baylor College of Medicine became independent from Baylor University. However, Baylor University and Baylor College of Medicine have entered into an agreement through the Baylor2 program that provides five Baylor undergraduates with full tuition scholarships and acceptance into Baylor College of Medicine.

Related Topics:
1900 - Dallas, Texas - 1903 - Baylor College of Medicine - 1943 - M.D. Anderson - Houston, Texas - 1969

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References

• Detailed history of Baylor University
• History of Baylor College of Medicine
• History of Independence, Texas
• History of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor