Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 64, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 15, 1988 Page: 1 of 4
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Rambler
“Representing All - Obligated To None"
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VOL 64 — No 2
TEXAS WESLEYAN COLLEGE, FORT WORTH, TEXAS Thursday, September 15, 1988
WORKERS put up formt for a tot of itopi loading up out of tho Quadranglo Room. Studonts will no long*
or havo to trok up tho hill from tho SUB. Photo by Jamos S. Drako
Bawcom proposes name change
to make the college a university
College's net debt
exceeds s5 million;
was once $14 million
by Rty C. Brooks
Texas Wesleyan College may
not exist for much longer. Pres-
ident Jerry Bawcom is proposing
that Texas Wesleyan College
change its name to Texas Wes-
leyan University.
The idea has been discussed
in the past by the offices of ad-
missions and of advancement.
Bawcom said he has proposed it
because "I think the timing is
good for it." The proposal will
be decided upon by the Board
of Trustees. Bawcom said the
Board would "not change the
name, but elevate the status of
this college to that of a univer-
sity."
President Bawcom gave two
reasons for the proposal: 1) to
keep people from confusing it
with two year colleges and 2)
prestige.
"When a prospective student,"
said Bawcom, “hears ‘Texas Wes-
leyan College’ or reads that In
context with institutions like
Weatherford College, Hill Col-
lege, El Centro College, East-
field College, etc., (all these ex-
cept one are Junior coleges) . . .
someone who does not live in
Fort Worth and is not familiar
with Texas Wesleyan College and
the fact that It’s a four year
college that also has graduate
programs can easily think that
It's just another junior college.
That's not an uncommon thought
•specially from someone who is
from out of state.
“A university commands a
little more status. If you can
rightfully claim to be a univer-
sity then you can increase your
chances of being recognized or
investigated by a prospective
student. You eliminate the pos-
sibility of confusion with the
plethora of junior colleges that
don't use 'junior' in their name.
There are not a whole lot of
four year institutions that offer
masters degrees that still call
themselves colleges," said Baw-
com. TWC offers a master's of
health sciences for anesthesiol-
ogy and a master's of education
In several interviews conduct-
ed by the Rambler, most faculty
members that were interviewed
were found to favor the pro-
posal Bawcom said the alumni
board was overwhelmingly in
support of it. The few that do
object do so saying that it would
be pretentious.
"I think its a good idea," said
Jim Hodson, vice president of
the student body, "because the
college is trying to project a
growing Image."
"Every time we go to Eng-
land," said Jesse Sowell, a re-
ligion professor who usually
participates In TWC'a summer
term in England, "I have to ex-
plain to people that we are a
university because over there, as
in most of Europe, colleges don't
grant degrees. Over there a col-
lege is usually a preparatory
school for university or part of
a university, or it's a vocational
school."
Benjamin Hale, a professor of
mass communcation, is opposed
to It. "I think it would be per-
ceived as a promotional ploy to
try and make the academic com-
munity think we are something
we are not,” he said. "The de-
gree to which it's seen as a
ploy will work against us. If
you're an economy car and you
pitch yourself as a mid-sized car,
sooner or later you'll be seen
for what you really are.
“Though we do have masters
programs," he said, “it is not at
the level that an institution
which calls itself university
should have."
Others who are not opposed
to the use of university in the
college's name propose changing
it to Wesleyan University of
Texas or the University of Texas
Wesleyan. They suggest such an
alternative to avoid any confu-
sion with Texas Women’s Uni-
versity so that TWC would not
(Continued on Page 3)
by Ray C. Brooks
As Jerry Bawcom begins his
fourth year as president, Texas
Wesleyan College has a total
debt of $5 million.
“In this four year period the
college has made some real
astounding progress," Bawcom
said. “Considering the amount
the college's debt which . . . was
over 14 million and the amount
of its deficit which at that time
was 2.7 million, for us to have
come this far is really a great
surprise to me. I would love for
it to be much further, but we
are much further ahead than we
expected to be four years ago.”
The $5 million debt is a com-
bination of three things: long-
term debt, its line of credit, and
notes owed on vehicles and oth-
er college equipment. A long-
term debt of $4.3 million is
owed to the Texas Higher Educa-
tion Authority. Texas Wesleyan
has a line of credit which at its
greatest is $650,000, and $74,000
in debt is primarily financing
notes on vehicles or equipment
for the college’s use. Therefore,
TWC owes a little over $5 mil-
lion.
Last year the total debt of the
college was $4.9 million. This
year it is $5 million; thus, the
total debt is up nearly $100,000.
These figures were calculated
in May 1987 and 1988. The time
of receiving a grant or other
funds may alter the figures.
"We may have gotten our
Richardson Grant in May of last
year; whereas, we got it In June
this year," explained John Rat-
liff, vice president of finance.
The long term debt is a com-
bination of past building pro-
jects and unfunded deficits of
the college acquired over the
last seven years. It was $5 mil-
lion in 1985, when the loan was
taken, and is now down to $4.3
million.
The long term debt is sched-
uled to be paid off over
the next 10 years; however, it
could be paid off sooner. TWC
owns several acres of property
west of Fort Worth. It was the
proposed relocation sight of the
campus and is now up for sale.
That money would be used to
pay off the debt or to create an
arbitrage, said Ratliff.
Despite a $5 million debt, TWC
is in no imment danger. TWC
has a total net worth of $55 mil-
lion. $26 million of that is in
endowments and quasi-endow-
ments. Of that $26 million, $10.6
million is in endowments and
its use is restricted. Only the
earnings of that money may be
used by the college. $15.4 mil-
lion is in quasi-endowments. As
well as being able to use the
earnings of the quasi-endowment
money, the college may use the
quasi-endowment money, itself, if
the board of trustees approves.
“We arc still having operating
pressures . . . primarily because
of enrollment," said Ratliff. “En-
rollment for the last two years
has been almost stagnant. We
need an additional 80 to a 100
students to get us over the hump
and get us into good operating
posture.”
Due to the low enrollment,
TWC now has an operating de-
ficit at about $250,000. Total en-
rollment is a little higher - this
year than last, but freshman
enrollment is down.
“Having fewer freshman is go-
ing to have an impact for the
next three years unless we start
getting more transfer students,”
said Ratliff.
Bawcom believes enrollment
needs to be about 1650 students.
“I think our short term goal for
the next three to five years
should be to get back to 1650,"
he said, "which is where we were
when we started having trou-
bles ... In the long run I don’t
believe we should go over 1800.”
LANDSCAPER5 ley down eras, in an attempt to speed up the growth in front of the library.
Photo by James I. Drake
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Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 64, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 15, 1988, newspaper, September 15, 1988; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth644494/m1/1/: accessed June 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Texas Wesleyan University.