Southwestern Magazine | Spring 2020

Fromacademics to experiences, Southwestern leads the way. A HISTORY OF FIRSTS AT THE BEGINNING OF 1840, the Republic of Texas had many of the earmarks of a sovereign state. It had its independence. It had its own congress and president. It had its own constitution. One thing the young republic did not have, however, was an institution of higher learning. That changed on February 5, 1840, when the charter of Rutersville College was signed by President Mirabeau B. Lamar. Named after Martin Ruter, a Methodist missionary who wrote the original charter for the school in response to Colonel William B. Travis’s call for a Methodist presence in Texas, Rutersville College opened in Rutersville, just east of La Grange, with 63 students. In 1873, almost 30 years after Texas joined the United States, Rutersville College joined Southwestern’s other three root colleges—Wesleyan College in San Augustine, McKenzie College in Clarksville, and Soule University in Chappell Hill—to establish a new university called Texas University in Georgetown. Two years later, after the Texas Legislature objected to the use of Texas in the name of the university due to a proposed state university to be built in Austin, the school was renamed South Western University. As the first institution of higher learning in Texas, Southwestern has been a leader in education in the state for more than a century. But that’s not where the University’s history making stops. Southwestern can claim a number of other significant firsts in the course of its long and storied past, and with recent record- breaking class sizes and the implementation of new, innovative approaches to teaching and learning, Southwestern is sure to carry on its rich tradition of firsts. Academic and intellectual firsts Since its founding, Southwestern has been dedicated to academic excellence. Faculty members and students have spent countless hours performing groundbreaking research and engaging in important intellectual pursuits. Robert S. Hyer, fourth president of Southwestern and professor of physics, was an early pioneer in the field of wireless transmission, building a device in 1894 that could send messages from his laboratory on campus to the Georgetown jail over a mile away. Hyer also built his own X-ray machine and used it to help local physicians detect fractures and examine the insides of patients’ bodies for just $1 per image. The University’s motto— Non quis sed quid , or “Not who but what”—signifies Southwestern’s commitment to its core purpose of fostering a liberal-arts community whose values and actions encourage contributions toward the well-being of humanity. The success of this commitment was demonstrated early, with three of the first five Rhodes Scholars in Texas graduating from Southwestern. Established in 1902, the Rhodes Scholarship recognizes “young leaders of outstanding intellect and character who are motivated to engage with global challenges, committed to the service of others, and show promise of becoming value- driven, principled leaders for the world’s future.” Competition for the Rhodes Scholarship is fierce: Only 32 students are selected from the U.S. each year out of the thousands who apply, resulting in a current acceptance rate of just 0.7%. Albert G. Sanders, class of 1904, received the honor in 1907; Thomas J. Mosley, class of 1907, in 1908; and McDougal (sometimes spelled McDugald ) K. McLean, class of 1908, in 1910. But Southwestern’s academic firsts don’t end there. One of the University’s four root colleges, Soule University, established the state’s first medical school in 1865. Southwestern created the first student literary journal in the state, the Alamo and San JacintoMonthly , in1881.And in1922,theUniversityestablishedthe nation’s first chapter of the honor society Alpha Chi, growing out of an existing scholarship society. “Alpha Chi puts students in touch with other high-achieving students at Southwestern,” says faculty advisor to Alpha Chi and Assistant Professor of Computer Science Jacob Schrum ’06. “AlphaChi students can vie for national scholar- ships and fellowships; Southwestern students have been awarded prestigious Sledge/Benedict Fellowships in each of the last two years. Members can also submit to Alpha Chi’s peer-reviewed student journal Aletheia , and some Southwestern students have recently been published there.” B Y D E B B I E R I T E N O U R 15 SOUTHWESTERN