University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin, often called UT or Texas, is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. US News consistently ranks Texas the best public university in the state and, in its 2006 rankings places it 17th among all public research universities in the U.S.http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/premium/natudoc/natudoc_pub.php. It is considered one of eight Public Ivies. The university is one of the largest single-campuses in the nation by enrollment, with nearly 50,000 undergraduates and graduate students attending.

Campus

The University encompasses about 350 acres (1.4 km²) on its main campus adjacent to downtown Austin and about 850 acres (3.4 km²) overall.

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The University is home to the LBJ Presidential Library http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/ and the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/home.html. The Ransom Center's holdings include one of only 21 remaining complete copies of the Gutenberg Bible worldwide. Additionally the campus is home to the almost complete 155,000 square foot (14,000 m²) Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, hosting approximately 17,000 works of art from Europe, the United States, and Latin America. The campus also boasts one of the largest student residence halls in the United States, Jester Dormitory.

Related Topics:
LBJ Presidential Library - Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center - Gutenberg Bible

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Other research facilities of the University include:

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• Perry-Castañeda Library http://www.lib.utexas.edu/pcl/about.html
• McDonald Observatory http://www.as.utexas.edu/mcdonald/mcdonald.html
• Marine Science Institute at Port Aransas http://www.utmsi.utexas.edu/
• J.J. Pickle Research Campus and Applied Research Laboratories http://www.arlut.utexas.edu/
• Center for Space Research http://www.csr.utexas.edu/
• Innovation, Creativity & Capital (IC²) Institute http://www.ic2.org/index.php
• Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory http://www.utexas.edu/research/pasp/.

The University operates a public radio station, KUT http://www.kut.org. KUT provides local FM broadcasts as well as live streaming audio over the Internet.

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The Main Building

The University of Texas at Austin?s main campus covers more than 350 acres. The 307-foot-tall University of Texas Tower is the university?s most distinguished landmark. In addition, the university operates the J. J. Pickle Research Campus, the Brackenridge tract and the Montopolis Research Center, all in the Austin area.

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One of the University's most visible features is its Main Building http://www.utexas.edu/tours/mainbuilding/, including a 307-foot tower designed by Paul Philippe Cret, also the designer of the university's master plan. Completed in 1937, the main building is located in the middle of campus and graces Austin's downtown skyline.

Related Topics:
Paul Philippe Cret - 1937

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The tower usually appears illuminated in white light in the evening, but is lit orange for various occasions, including athletic victories and academic accomplishments, such as commencement. The tower is darkened for solemn occasions. http://www.utexas.edu/opa/pubs/oncampus/02oc_issues/oc020129/oc_tower.html

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At the top of the tower is a carillon of 56 bells, the largest in Texas. Songs are played every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 12:50 p.m. by resident carilloneur Tom Anderson, in addition to the usual pealing of Westminster Quarters every quarter hour.

Related Topics:
Carillon - Westminster Quarters

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Following the Whitman incident, the observation deck was closed until 1968, and then closed again in 1975 following a series of suicide jumps during the 1970s. In 1998, after installation of security and safety precautions, the tower observation deck reopened to the public. It is surrounded by a protective metal grid to impede jumpers, and is only primarily on the weekends when the offices in the tower are not open.http://www.utexas.edu/student/txunion/ae/towertours/index.php?tours=schedule Visitors must pass through a metal detector and are accompanied by police while on the observation deck.

Related Topics:
1968 - 1975 - Suicide - 1970s - 1998 - Police

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Student publications and media

Student-produced media include:

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:The Daily Texan, http://www.dailytexanonline.com/, the most award-winning college newspaper in the United States.

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:The Texas Travesty, the college humor publication with the largest circulation in the United States.

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:KVR-TV, the only FCC-licensed student-managed television station in the country.

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:The Cactus Yearbook, the school's yearbook.

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:Study Break Magazine

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:KVRX one of the few completely student-run college radio stations in the US.

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Endowment

The University receives income from an endowment known as the Permanent University Fund. With $6.95 billion (US) in assets as of May 31, 2003, UT's endowment is the fourth largest of U.S. universities (after Harvard, Stanford and Yale). However, this money is spread throughout the University of Texas System, and one-third of the income goes by law to the Texas A&M University System. At one time, the PUF was the chief source of income for Texas's two university's systems, but today its revenues account for less than 10 percent of the universities' annual budget, challenging the university to increase sponsored research and private donations. Other Texas public universities outside these two systems, notably the University of Houston and Texas Tech University, are prohibited by law from sharing in the income from this endowment.

Related Topics:
Permanent University Fund - Harvard - Stanford - Yale - Texas A&M University System - University of Houston - Texas Tech University

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