New Texas budget slashes funding to WTAMU, while A&M-College Station receives big funding increase

West Texas A&M University and the Center for the Study of the American West are welcoming a luminary of the American literary scene this Thursday night. S.C. Gwynne is the author of one of the most celebrated books ever written about the High Plains: Empire of the Summer Moon, a magisterial history of the Comanches and Quanah Parker.

A new venture at West Texas A&M University is drawing a lot of buzz across the High Plains. The Center for the Study of the American West was launched this fall and has already positioned itself as one of the jewels in WT’s crown.

The project’s sponsor, Dr. Alex Hunt, says the Center’s role is to foster interdisciplinary research, teaching, and public outreach relevant to the American West.

West Texas A&M University in Canyon is celebrating the establishment of its new Center for the Study of the American West by hosting a lecture this Thursday evening. Award-winning Colorado historian Patricia Limerick will give the inaugural Garry L. Nall Lecture in Western Studies.

West Texas A&M University in Canyon has formally named a successor to departing president J. Patrick O’Brien. The new president, Walter V. Wendler, is the former chancellor of Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Wendler will start with a salary of over $335,000. As The Amarillo Globe-News reports, Amarillo-native Don Powell headed a search committee that recommended Wendler after narrowing a pool of more than 70 applicants.

Philipp Meyer, acclaimed author of The Son and American Rust, will give a reading Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, on the campus of West Texas A&M University.

American artist George Catlin (1796–1872) journeyed west five times in the 1830s, traversing the Great Plains where he visited and painted more than 140 American Indian tribes. The exhibition “George Catlin’s American Buffalo” presents 40 original Catlin paintings from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection to show the crucial role of the buffalo in Plains Indian culture. Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum will host the Smithsonian American Art Museum Touring Exhibition “George Catlin’s American Buffalo” May 30- Aug 30, 2015 in the Foran Family Galleries.

A Texas Senate panel is moving toward abolishing a rule aimed at helping low-income students attend college in the Lone Star State, reports The Texas Tribune.

The legislation, known as “Bill 18,” would eliminate a rule requiring universities to set aside tuition dollars for scholarships and grants to benefit poor students. The legislation, which is supported by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, was introduced by Senator Kel Seliger, a Republican from Amarillo.

Some Lone Star lawmakers have more campaign cash on hand than the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president of the United States, reports The Texas Tribune. Last week Donald Trump revealed that his campaign had just $1.3 million on hand to fund their election efforts. Meanwhile his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton reportedly has $42 million in the bank.

A Texas state senate bill by Amarillo Sen. Kel Seliger is drawing a good deal of criticism, according to The Texas Tribune. Senate Bill 149 allows Texas high school seniors to graduate without passing all five state exams, and instead being cleared by a panel of teachers, counselors, and parents.

Texas State Senator Kel Seliger is working to fast-track a bill giving school officials the option to graduate high school students who have failed state exams.  This report from the Texas Tribune.

Seliger says students who are doing well in school shouldn’t be kept from getting a high school diploma because of a standardized test.