NOW, Volume 61, Number 1, Spring 2006 Page: 2
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: LeTourneau University Archives and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the LeTourneau University Margaret Estes Library.
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-DR. ALVIN 0. AUSTIN
PresidentHEN. It was just this time of year, 60 years ago, when
LeTourneau Technical Institute of Texas first opened its
doors-to mostly returning World War II Gis eager to learn. The
Harmon Army General Hospital, here in the southern outskirts
of Longview, Texas, had recently closed. Some 200 barrack
buildings, all interconnected with covered corridors and hastily
assembled at the outset of World War II, had become war surplus property.
The site was obtained by Mr. and Mrs. R. G. LeTourneau to open a technical
institute. Intended to teach basic educational subjects and trades, it also had
a complementary goal to obtain a workforce for the new plant that R. G. was
building just down the street.
NOW. Three score years have passed. LeTourneau University today is a
maturing institution that has outgrown its birthing years, maybe even left its
adolescent years and is now moving well into institutional adulthood, although
at 60, it is still young by college standards, since the earliest American colleges
now are over 350 years old. Sixty years-our diamond jubilee year-is a time
to benchmark, a time to reflect back on our rich heritage, a time to look forward
to our future. LeTourneau has much to celebrate in our history, for we are an
institution blessed of God-one that has grown in number, in stature, in scope
of programs and in outreach to the world. And we have much to anticipate aswe focus on our future. With God's continued guidance, our best years are yet ahead.
While 1946-2006 marks 60 years of LeTourneau University history, the years 1986-2006 are special years for me
personally, as these encompass my 20 years as the university's president.
It was in the summer of 1986 that my family and I made the journey to Longview. The journey for me had really
begun about 40 years ago as I was led down the path of leadership in education serving at various institutions
from California to Mississippi to Texas, back to California, on to Washington and Illinois, then back to Texas and
LeTourneau. What a thrill it has been to be president of this institution for one-third of its entire history!
Presidents don't usually have the privilege of celebrating a 20th anniversary. The pressures of the job and numerous
other intervening elements limit the typical presidency to fewer than seven years. Each time the challenge or
opportunity to consider moving on has come to me, I have been encouraged by God, and a highly supportive Board
of Trustees, faculty, staff and student body (often without their even knowing it) to stay the course, to build upon the
accomplishments of the past and to continue to seek God's best for the future of this university.
People ask what have been the most rewarding elements in my tenure here. It isn't the considerable makeover of
the campus facilities. It isn't even the growth in the number and stature of our programs and student enrollment. It
isn't the expansion to our educational centers around the state, or how they bring the LeTourneau experience to
hundreds of students who couldn't attend our programs in Longview. As I reflect upon our university's 60 years of
history and my own 20 years of leadership at LeTourneau, my greatest joys all revolve around people. We have
the most highly qualified faculty in our history. They remain fervent in their spiritual commitment. We have a staff of
outstanding people, highly skilled in their areas of expertise. They passionately share in the mission of the university.
We have a growing student body that is academically talented, spiritually insightful and committed to being "world
changers." They are the best I have ever known. I often say that it isn't the buildings that are important, it is what
happens inside the buildings with the people here that makes LeTourneau University the very special place that it is.
Throughout this year, we will use the pages of this magazine to reflect upon the highlights of our past and the
successes of the present. In this issue, we take a fun look at THEN and NOW, grateful for all that we have been, all
that we are-and even more, excited about what we will become with God's continued blessing. ULETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY SPRING 2006
SDR. AUSTIN NOW
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LeTourneau University. NOW, Volume 61, Number 1, Spring 2006, periodical, 2006-Spring; Longview, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1527414/m1/2/?q=%22~1~1~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting LeTourneau University Margaret Estes Library.