Skip to main content
College of Education

History

Main Content

Student teacher

The TCU College of Education’s beginning can be traced back to 1875, when the university created a department for the preparation of aspiring teachers. Trustees approved the development of a preparation program in 1892 that would be designed to meet certificate requirements of the Texas State Department of Education and in 1893, the Texas State Department of Education recognized the institution’s teacher preparation program. By the 1895-96 academic year, a Post-Graduate Department in Educational Studies had been developed and Addison Clark, president, served as the examiner for the program.

Additional college highlights:

  • Addison Clark became principal of the School of Philosophy and Pedagogy in 1896-97.
  • A. Armstrong became principal of the Normal College in 1904-1905 and the University made its first attempt to teach “the science of pedagogy.”
  • A Department of Education in the AddRan College was established in 1909.
  • The department was made a School of Education, recognized in the 1923-1924 catalog.
  • While TCU remained a segregated school through 1964, education instructors including Sandy A. Wall traveled off campus beginning in 1951 to hold classes for black Fort Worth teachers who needed additional courses for certification requirements. Among the teachers were Reva Bell and Juanita Cash, who later earned their master's degrees from TCU.
  • In 1958, the Brite College of the Bible was renovated and renamed The Bailey Building, in honor of Mary Ann and Robert Bailey, and assigned to the School of Education.
  • 1966 Mr. and Mrs. Neeley initiated a laboratory school on the TCU campus, Starpoint School, for children with learning differences.
  • In 1980, Reva Bell became the first black tenured professor in the School of Education.
  • In 1987, Dr. James I. Cash and sister Pamela Cash established the Juanita Cash Fellowship for Graduate Education in honor of their mother, who earned her master’s degree from TCU in 1965 and taught in Fort Worth public schools for 27 years.
  • The Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program began on TCU’s campus in 1990. The federally funded program aims to prepare underrepresented students for doctoral studies.
  • The Andrews Institute of Mathematics & Science Education was established in 1999.
  • In 2000, KinderFrogs School, an early-intervention educational program for children ages 18 months to six years with Down syndrome and other developmental delays, was opened. TCU is still the only university in the nation to house two laboratory schools for children with special needs.
  • In 2002 The Center for Urban Education (now Center for Public Education) was established and the School of Education joined the European Teacher Education Network to expand international opportunities for student teaching and faculty exchanges.
  • In 2004 the Alice S. Neeley Special Education Institute was established (now Alice Neeley Special Education Research and Service or ANSERS Institute).
  • In June 2007, the School of Education became the College of Education and the L.E. Mabee foundation Education Complex and the Palko Building were dedicated.
  • Mary M. Patton became the first female dean of the College of Education in 2009, after serving as Interim Dean in 2008.
  • The College Advising Corps program started at TCU in 2011 to help underserved high school students pursue postsecondary options. The first group of 16 advisers met with 6,000 high school students. The program now employs 54 advisers who meet with students at 24 area high schools.
  • In 2015, the College of Education started the pinning ceremony to recognize undergraduates’ entry into the education profession.
  • Frank Hernandez became the first Latinx dean of the College of Education in 2020.