This is the centennial of the creation of the Texas A&M university system.
The first two system members are the flagship campus and Tarleton State University.
The board of regents spent portions of three days last week in Stephenville, where Tarleton has been holding multiple events celebrating the centennial.
Last Thursday, there was a dedication of a lifesized bronze statue of General James Earl Rudder as part of a pedestrian walkway project that’s associated with renaming Vanderbilt Street through the campus as “Rudder Way”.
According to a Tarleton news release, Rudder attended John Tarleton Agricultural College in 1928 and 1929 before completing his bachelor’s degree at Texas A&M. He returned to Tarleton as the head football coach and an instructor in 1938, leaving in 1941 when called to active duty as a member of the U.S. Army Reserve.
During World War II, Rudder commanded the Army’s 2nd Ranger Battalion, which played a major role in the D-Day invasion. He also commanded the 109th Infantry Regiment at the Battle of the Bulge. He received the Distinguished Service Cross, Legion of Merit, Silver Star, French Legion of Honor with Croix de guerre and palm, and other honors.
According to the Tarleton news release, Rudder served as mayor of Brady, Texas, for six years while working in the aviation industry. In 1955, he became commissioner of the General Land Office of Texas. He joined Texas A&M University as a vice president in 1958, became its president in 1959 and served as president of The Texas A&M University System from 1965 until his death in 1970.
Click below for comments from Tarleton president Dominic Dottavio during the board of regents meeting on October 19, 2017.
