THE PRIMACY OF PLACE To a great extent, West Texas A&M University is a creation of the Texas Panhandle and the state of Texas. An intentional focus on the region will result in considerable advantages, including:
OUR CAMPUS IS A PLACE THAT PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR REVERENCE Typically, we think of reverence as related to matters of faith, but campuses also have places of reverence. WT is in close proximity to several faith-based organizations and maintains Joseph A. Hill Memorial Chapel on WT’s campus. WT will enhance and continue to improve on manifold opportunities for such spaces of reverence. I met a man who proposed to his wife at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium. Understandably, this makes Kimbrough a place of reverence for this man and woman. —Walter V. Wendler OUR CAMPUS IS EMBLEMATIC OF TEXAS WT’s place in the state of Texas and in the Panhandle provides geographic, cultural and climatic distinctiveness. Appreciating these aspects of the Panhandle should help define the nature of our physical campus. The openness, entrepreneurism, self-assurance, toughness and tenacity are resident and critical for this place we call home. West Texas A&M University will powerfully reinforce our sense of place. WT is Texas, and, as Abraham Lincoln supposedly quipped, “I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.” EMBRACING PARTNERSHIP Given the geographic and population characteristics of this region, partnerships with community colleges and peer institutions will be the natural outgrowth of a regional
• heightened attention to the needs of students from the local service region;
• positive attention from lawmakers, business and industry;
• an attractiveness to students from afar, even as we serve first locally, who will be drawn to a university with clarity of purpose and distinctiveness; • mission excellence growing out of the collective impact of research, scholarship and creative interests of faculty, focused on students and delivered with a regional responsiveness; • sustained regional economic impact recognized by leaders across the locale, state and nation; and • cost efficiencies generated by the ability to focus resources more narrowly according to the regional priority. WT will be attractive to those who call the Panhandle home as well as inviting to those beyond the regional community.
OUR CAMPUS IS AN EXTENSION OF AMARILLO-CANYON AND VICE VERSA
Amarillo and Canyon are mutually supportive – neither can exist without the other. WT’s responsiveness to its local community, its host and partner, creates vitality and value for both. The University Economic Development Association suggests that institutional engagement with partners and stakeholders creates sustainable growth and extends the value of both the campus and the community. By 2035, or sooner, WT will fully reflect this principle.
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