Here are some of the things you might have missed.
New dining options debut across campus
Hospitality Services has added various dining options on campus.
- There will be a new Starbucks location on campus in the new Honors Residence Hall. This full-service Starbucks will accept Dining Bucks.
- A new Sam's Express will be open in Holden Hall starting in the fall semester.
Texas Tech partners with ReplyBuy for mobile ticket purchases
Texas Tech Athletics has partnered with ReplyBuy, a global sales provider that specializes in giving fans the opportunity to purchase tickets to sporting events instantaneously.
Fans will be able to buy tickets to any Red Raider sporting event by replying to a text message. Fans who participate will receive customized notifications when tickets become available, enabling them to complete their purchase in a matter of seconds.
Texas Tech's partnership with ReplyBuy will start with the Texas Tech football game against Eastern Washington on Sept. 3.
New School of Law dean announced
Jack Nowlin, a former associate dean and professor of law at the University of Mississippi School of Law, was named dean of the Texas Tech School of Law in June.
Nowlin received his bachelor's degree from Angelo State University in 1991 and his juris doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law in 1994. Nowlin also earned a master's degree and a doctorate in politics from Princeton University.
Nowlin's research interest is focused on judicial power, interpretive theory and constitutional structure. Nowlin received the Ben A. Hardy Faculty Excellence Award in 2011 for outstanding teaching, scholarship and service.
Nowlin began as dean of the School of Law on July 17.
Texas Tech names new RISE director
Texas Tech namedBrittany Todd, former associate director of the Office of Student Conduct, as director of the Risk Intervention & Safety Education (RISE) office in August. Todd began in the position on Aug. 1.
Todd replaced Kimberly Simón, who was named the university's Title IX administrator in April.
The RISE office was established in 2015 to provide prevention education and services to students on topics like alcohol, drugs, relationship violence and suicide prevention.
Tech ranked in QS World University Rankings
Texas Tech University was named one of the best universities in the world according to the latest QS World University Rankings announced in June. The university is one of the top 750 in the world.
This is the first time Texas Tech has appeared on the QS World University Rankings list and is one of two public institutions in the U.S. new to this year's rankings. Texas Tech also is ranked among the top 75 public research institutions in the U.S. in the QS rankings.
Texas Tech recognized as top disability-friendly institution
Texas Tech was ranked No. 7 out of more than 1,200 colleges and universities on the SR Education Group's
list of the 2017 top online and most affordable online schools for students with disabilities.
The data evaluated from the publisher included information from university websites,
the College Board school database and the National Center for Education Statistics.
The top schools on the disability-friendly list include those that provide high levels
of support, a wide range of accommodations and a comprehensive list of resources.
Texas Gamma named Best Pi Beta Phi chapter in nation
The Texas Gamma Chapter of the Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women at Texas Tech was named the best Pi Beta Phi chapter in the nation. The chapter received the Balfour Cup for the 2016-17 academic year, the fraternity's highest and most prestigious honor.
The chapter served a total of 3,000 hours of community service overall in the academic year. Members also raised more than $14,000 for the Pi Beta Phi Foundation through the chapter's fundraising.
School of Art students win national ADDY awards
Maria Alvarado and Mystie Do, two students in the Texas Tech School of Art, each received a national-level American Advertising Award while attending Texas Tech. It marks the first time a Texas Tech student has won a national ADDY while currently enrolled.
Alvarado won a silver ADDY for a stationery package she created in a visual systems class. The project focused on branding for a restaurant, including business cards, menus and product labels. Do also won a silver ADDY for a promotional video she created in a motion graphics class. The video was adapted from a print poster created by professor Dirk Fowler and is now being used for recruitment purposes for the School of Art.
Alvarado and Do both submitted their work to Lubbock's local ADDY competition. The work then went through the district level which qualified them for the national competition.
Twirlers earn 19 National Awards
The Texas Tech Twirlers competed in the America's Youth on Parade National Baton Twirling Championships in July and received 19 individual and team awards.
Members of the team took third place in the National Collegiate Halftime Twirl Show and fifth place in the National Collegiate Dance Twirl competition. Each of the twirlers also earned multiple top-10 awards in the individual categories of solo- and two-baton twirling, strutting and flag twirling.
The team has competed in the championship every year since 2011 and has placed in the top five each time, including back-to-back national titles in 2014 and 2015.
Baseball team claims back-to-back Big 12 Championships
After its sweep of Kansas on May 20, the Texas Tech Baseball team claimed its second-straight Big 12 Conference regular-season championship. This is the first time the team has claimed back-to-back titles.
This championship was the sixth conference crown in program history. Texas Tech shared the conference title with Texas Christian University.
Honors College Residence Hall unveiled
The Honors Residence Hall opened with a University Student Housing ribbon-cutting on Aug. 9.
The hall will house 313 students, mainly from the Honors College. Construction of the residence hall started in February 2016, and took 17 months
to complete.
The residence hall is 77,292 square feet and features 153 double and seven single units over four floors. This is the first pod-style hall on Texas Tech's campus, with rooms around central community bathrooms.
A new public art installation, “Wandering,” by artist Marc Fornes, will be installed in the landscaped courtyard at the residence hall. The piece will measure between 16 and 18 feet tall and 50 feet long and draws inspiration from the potential traffic flow patterns in the space. The piece will change appearance depending on the angle from which it is viewed.
Campus construction and renovations continue
Several construction projects on campus are underway or nearing completion.
- The School of Theatre & Dance Complex will include an expansion and renovation of the Charles E. Maedgen Jr. Theatre. The groundbreaking launched the first phase of construction. This project was made possible by a $10 million donation from the J.T. & Margaret Talkington Charitable Foundation. This expansion will provide new study, rehearsal and performance spaces for students and faculty in the School of Theatre & Dance. The plans include a 178 seat black-box theater, lighting and computer-assisted design and drafting labs, makeup and dressing rooms and three 30-seat classrooms.
- Renovations continued at the Experimental Sciences Building II throughout the summer. Once completed, this renovation will add 117,000 square feet of research laboratories, offices and other spaces to help Texas Tech grow in its research.
- The United Supermarkets Arena is continuing to undergo locker room renovations. The men's and women's basketball locker rooms, the volleyball locker room and the sports medicine area are being updated.
- The construction of the Sports Performance Center continued throughout the summer. The facility includes a 200-meter indoor track and an indoor football area. There will also be a strength and conditioning center as well as a new sports nutrition center.
- Urbanovsky Park underwent renovations this summer. There were landscape and usability updates and an addition of a Frisbee Golf course to the park.
- Texas Tech improved campus draining and paving with its renovations on Boston Avenue this summer. Boston Avenue from 15th Street North to Memorial Circle was rebuilt to install a storm drain.
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