Talk:Southwestern University/Archive 1

Alumni Section
On 10 November 2008, the list of notable alumni was removed by a contributor citing a lack of references and mentioning Wikipedia's Biographies of Living Persons (BLP) guidelines. The section was partially re-added by another contributor on 11 October 2009 as "Noted deceased alumni." The BLP guidlines do not directly address how notable alumni should be handled, although Wikipedia:Notability does address this issue. Using Yale University as a template, I have restored the notable alumni as a sub-section under "notable people." Linked references confirming the alumni status of these individuals should be added to both this article and to each individual's biographical article, but missing sources do not warrant immediate deletion without prior discussion. -Mabeenot (talk) 01:53, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

Specific Alumni
Until I get a good reason as to why John Tower was removed from notable alumni, I'm returning him... Sure, I didn't like his politics, either, but it's no excuse to delete him. We can also tell the mystery editor's preference for frats, too, with the shuffling of those for no real apparent reason (I'm independent, never have cared about any of them, so I won't change it). A google search turns up nothing for the geologist past a couple pages - I don't think he's really notable enough to remain on the page. Any problems with this? Add to the discussion, my friends... -Souperman

To the anonymous person who edited last (on April 19th, 2005); Southwestern claims its charter as the continuation of the 1840 Rutersville charter, thus claiming its founding as 1840. This claim is backed up by the Texas Legislature. Yes, I've read the Texas State Handbook Online, and it is an excellent resource; however, it is wrong here. Literally, you are correct; the group to form what would be Southwestern in Georgetown was 1870, but as "Texas' First Institution of Higher Learning", the date is 1840. Souperman 05:13, 21 Apr 2005 (UTC)

there is a plaque on the campus from the texas governor (i believe bill clements) stating that the state of texas recognizes southwestern as texas' oldest university. Desert boy 15:18, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

Red McCombs is not an alum of Southwestern. His wife is, but he is not. The two of them are significant donors to the school and are the namesakes of several buildings and spaces around campus, but no matter how much money Red throws at Southwestern, he will never be an alumni. JCH 12/22/2006


 * Y'know, you might try doing a quick google search before saying he never attended Southwestern, as you did in the edit summary - if you want to make the argument that he never graduated from Southwestern and is therefore not an alum, that's one thing, but he did attend. See here. If memory serves, however, the Alumni Association counts anyone who attended for a year or more as an alum (as I do not have a citation right in front of me, I will not re-add him, but if I do, it's because I found documentation on such a fact). --Souperman 05:38, 23 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Y'know, you might try re-reading what I wrote to see that I said "Red McCombs is not an ALUM of Southwestern." Maybe he attended; maybe not.  My dad always said "Maybe doesn't count."


 * Which, if you read the above properly, you would find that I have no argument with that as such - and he may actually count as an alum, depending on what the Alumni Association counts as such. What I was referring to was this edit summary someone, presumably you, said, removed "Red McCombs" from "Noted Alumni" as he did not attend nor graduate from Southwestern University; his wife, however, is an alum and Red McCombs has been a significant donor on behalf of her. Not exactly a question of "maybe", since he did attend, according to the University itself, which I would imagine is a decent source. --Souperman 20:24, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

SU Rankings
I just added a bunch of things on Southwestern's rankings from http://www.southwestern.edu/parents/parents-handbook-bragging.html. I'm not sure how to cite them correctly, as I don't have a subscription to any of the sources (US News & World Report, Princeton Review, etc.). This is probably very poor Wikipedia practice I realize... Perhaps someone can ask for the specific references from SU? I'll try to send an email today. 209.213.90.226 16:40, 21 August 2007 (UTC) -Melissa Whited

Charter Date
how is SU able to claim 1840 as their charter date? To my understanding they do this because when SU was founded they absorbed the charters of 4 other colleges that had been shut down. So in other words, this would be like my (someone who is 28 years old) receiving let's say, a kidney transplant from someone who is 78 years old. Am I able to then claim that I am 78 years old since I have in essence "absorbed" something from an older person? I think that the way SU claims to be the "oldest school in Texas" is pretty shady. That title, in my opinion, still belongs to Baylor (1845, original charter). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 150.113.8.138 (talk) 19:55, 5 March 2010 (UTC)
 * My understanding is that Southwestern's combined charter was granted by the Texas legislature as a continuation of the other four schools, including Rutersville's charter granted in 1840. Soule University was the direct successor to Rutersville and was still in operation when Soule's president formed Southwestern. Just like when companies merge, Southwestern has claimed that its founding date was the founding of the oldest component.


 * Baylor challenged SU's claim back in the 1960s and the Texas governor issued a decree reaffirming that SU was the oldest in the state. Besides, neither Baylor nor Southwestern is operating under its original charter, which is why Austin College claims to be the oldest university under original charter.


 * At the end of the day, it's important to note that all founding dates are pretty worthless. They're all self-reported by each university and are subject to the university's interpretation of when "founding" occurs. It is not Wikipedia's job to adjudicate conflicts and rivalries between schools. -Mabeenot (talk) 07:01, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

Oldest in the State
Both Southwestern and Baylor University claim in their respective articles to to be the oldest in the state of Texas. Baylor University is a private Baptist university in Waco, Texas. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas, Baylor is the oldest university in Texas and was one of the first educational institutions west of the Mississippi River.

and Founded in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest university in Texas.

Both can't be the oldest in the state. Can I suggest the comment on oldest in the state be removed or be replaced with the language one of the oldest in the state ? Which makes the phrasing non singular superlative. Appleman1234 (talk) 16:23, 28 January 2013 (UTC)


 * This has been an area of rivalry and debate among those two schools and Austin College for decades. Southwestern traces its roots back to Rutersville College established in 1840, making it the first university in the Republic of Texas. Baylor was founded five years later, also under the Republic of Texas, but has retained the same name over the years. Austin, which was founded after the Republic transitioned into the State of Texas, claims to be the oldest university still operating under its original charter. All of these definitions allow each university to claim the mantel of "oldest in Texas" although each definition has caveats. –Mabeenot (talk) 18:37, 28 January 2013 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080611053355/http://www.nd.edu:80/~ndethics/about/hauerwas.shtml to http://www.nd.edu/~ndethics/about/hauerwas.shtml

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External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20151109231238/http://www.naicu.edu/member_center/members.asp to http://www.naicu.edu/member_center/members.asp
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20080509155553/http://www.southwestern.edu/library/writers-voice/chabon.html to http://www.southwestern.edu/library/writers-voice/chabon.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090227005958/http://www.southwestern.edu/library/writers-voice/wvoice.html to http://www.southwestern.edu/library/writers-voice/wvoice.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20140625060454/http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/rankings_2013/liberal_arts_rank.php to http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/rankings_2013/liberal_arts_rank.php

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External links modified (January 2018)
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20160224172918/http://southwestern.edu/su_blogs/suonline/2015/02/22/duty-and-doctrine-the-origin-story-of-southwestern-university-and-its-four-root-colleges/ to http://southwestern.edu/su_blogs/suonline/2015/02/22/duty-and-doctrine-the-origin-story-of-southwestern-university-and-its-four-root-colleges/

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Memorial
Does anyone know anything about the memorial on the campus, displayed to the right? Francis Asbury Mood's name is inscribed on one side, but I'm struggling to find much more info. --- Another Believer ( Talk ) 22:08, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

Ed at SU (talk) 15:32, 15 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Specific text to be added or removed: The logo should be replaced with Southwestern University's new logo. For example, https://www.southwestern.edu/marketing-and-communications/downloads/southwestern_university_logo.png
 * Reason for the change: Southwestern University revised its logo.
 * References supporting change: https://www.southwestern.edu/marketing-and-communications/downloads/southwestern_university_logo.png; see the footer of most pages at https://www.southwestern.edu.
 * Disclosure: I work for Southwestern University.
 * Thank you.
 * Yes check.svg Done  RFZYN SPY  talk 18:54, 15 September 2021 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 07:23, 30 September 2021 (UTC)
 * SU-crest.png