5 Chapter I
Introduction
Early Image of Corpus Christi (Circa 1846)
Corpus Christi Public Library
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is a four-year, doctoral degree granting university with its primary campus in Corpus Christi, Texas. With almost 12,000 students, it serves as the educational hub for the Coastal Bend Region of South Texas. The University was originally founded in 1947 as a private Baptist-affiliated college and has undergone significant changes and several iterations in its 75-year history.[i]
In 1998, the former President of the University of Corpus Christi, Dr. Kenneth A. Maroney, praised then-President of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Robert Furgason for “recognizing immediately upon his arriving that there was a history here.”[ii]Maroney was correct about the rich history and keen to recognize the value in understanding the past of the institutions which shape our lives. Indeed, these two presidents led two very different universities in terms of student body, name, and character. Both leaders served during important times of transformation and continued to work on behalf of the institution after their tenure as president had concluded. They shared a common goal for advancing education through an institution that was founded 75 years ago. This book tells of the story of the Island University.
The History of Ward Island
Ward Island is a 223-acre site bordered by Oso Bay to the South and East and Corpus Christi Bay to the North.[iii] The Island overlooks Corpus Christi Bay and today has a picturesque view of Downtown Corpus Christi to the Northwest. Ocean Drive traverses the northern side of the island and connects to Naval Air Station-Corpus Christi (NAS-Corpus Christi). The Cayo del Oso shallow marshlands extend from Ocean Drive around the southern end of Ward Island to its eastern edge.[iv][v]
Earlier in its history, the area now occupied by TAMU-CC was sporadically inhabited by nomadic Native Americans who subsisted on seafood.[vi] The first people of the area that would become known as Ward Island were the Karankawa.[vii] This group lived in the Texas Gulf Coast region from present-day Galveston, south to Corpus Christi. Their name is derived from their practice of raising and keeping dogs. In their native language, the name Karankawa means “dog-lover” and refers to several bands of coastal peoples who survived on hunting, fishing, and gathering.[viii] The male Karankawa have been described as particularly tall and the people wore tattoos as well as jewelry made of shells, beads, and deerskin. They dressed in breechcloths and used animal grease on their bodies to repel insects.[ix]
Areas inhabited by the Karankawa were later occupied by European explorers followed by Mexican and U.S. settlers. The natives were not willing to be subjugated to living in missions or under the control of explorers or settlers in the area. Beginning with an encounter with the Spanish expedition of Panfilo de Narvaez in Galveston in 1528,