Happy Birthday UTA

Break out your party hats and start lighting the many (many) candles: We’re celebrating UT Arlington’s 130th anniversary with a yearlong party—and you’re invited!

One hundred thirty years ago, Arlington College opened near the site of today’s University Center. The private school catered to students from first grade through high school and opened with 75 pupils and six teachers—not bad for a city with a total population of about 1,000.

A century-plus and seven name changes later, The University of Texas at Arlington today spreads across more than 400 acres in both Arlington and Fort Worth, boasts an enrollment of 41,000 students from nearly 100 countries, and employs more than 5,000 full-time faculty and staff. Its nine schools and colleges produce groundbreaking research and educate students in everything from accounting to aerospace engineering to art history. Together with its 280,000-plus alumni, the University has a $28.8 billion annual economic impact on Texas.

From those humble beginnings in September 1895, UTA has evolved into an educational and research powerhouse. But to really appreciate how far the University has come, we first must remember—and celebrate—what it took to get here.

That’s why we’re packing the year with 130th anniversary events, exhibitions, and festivities. It all kicked off on Jan. 30—1/30, get it?—when College Park Center hosted a UTA anniversary night at a men’s basketball game against Southern Utah. The Mavericks helped start the celebration on a high note, coming away with a 70‑68 victory.

Plaid Power

Though UT Arlington has been represented by many names, logos, mascots, and colors over its 130-year history, it’s never had its own tartan (defined by the Scottish Register of Tartans as a woven design “consisting of two or more alternating colored stripes which combine vertically and horizontally to form a repeated checkered pattern”—or plaid, to Americans). That all changed this spring, when the College of Liberal Arts launched a Tartan Design Competition open to all students.

A panel of judges led by August Davis, chair of the Art and Art History Department, reviewed the tartan design submissions in March and selected sophomore Rachel Chen as the winner and Kara Johnson as runner‑up. They received $1,000 and $500 scholarships, respectively, as their prizes.

“We received dozens of entries, and it was great to see such student interest in helping to celebrate UTA’s 130th anniversary through designing a limited-edition commemorative tartan,” says Dr. Davis. “There was a wide range of interpretations about what a tartan can look like; the strongest designs found ways to bring traditionalism and modernism together in the pattern.”

Chen says she was immediately drawn to the idea that a simple pattern of lines and squares could unite people and foster a strong sense of community.

“It fascinates me how the tradition of the tartan can be traced so far back, yet students like me are still actively participating in it by designing a tartan pattern that, at its core, links us all together,” she says. “That idea strongly influenced my own approach when I thought about my design and expressing the spirit of UTA visually through the blues and oranges. I feel very grateful to have been chosen as the winner and have the opportunity to express the passion I have for design.”

The 130th anniversary pattern will be used on merchandise available in the UTA Bookstore later this year.

Anniversary Events

Other events held over the spring included the 45th annual Bed Races, the University’s oldest student tradition; the debut of a “130 Seconds With” video series that features short interviews with members of the UTA community; and the College of Liberal Arts’ annual Festival of Ideas, which paid tribute to the UTA spirit, those who came before, and the empowerment of the future.

The celebrations will kick into high gear over the next several months, as we near the beginning of the fall semester. Events include the return of the Distinguished Alumni Awards, the debut of a new fight song composed by current UTA music students, a Birthday Bash at Brazos Park, and even a special UTA Night at the Texas Rangers scheduled on—you guessed it—the 130th game of the season.

It promises to be an exciting summer and fall at UTA. Join us as we commemorate 130 years of Maverick excellence.