History
John W. Gates of
On July 31, 1974, another milestone in the history of the school was
reached. W. Sam Monroe, President of Port Arthur College and a Lamar University
Regent, presented his fellow members of the Lamar board a resolution seeking
merger of
The 64th Legislature of the State of
Since the merger in 1975, enrollment has increased from 151 students to a peak of more than 3,000 and the curriculum has been expanded to more than 50 areas of study.
In 1977, the 65th Legislature approved House Bill 1134
renaming the campus as Lamar University-Port Arthur; the "
In 1983, the 68th Legislature passed three bills which directly affected the college:
1. Senate Bill 409 in effect deleted the restrictive language of H.B. 130 (passed in 1971 by the 63rd Legislature), thereby making Lamar University-Port Arthur eligible, on an equal basis with other state institutions, for state funds to be utilized in the purchase of land and/or buildings.
2. Senate Bill 410 provided
3. Senate Bill 620 created the Lamar University System. Lamar University-Port Arthur thus became a component institution of that system on Aug. 29, 1983.
In 1985, two bills affected the school:
1. Senate Bill 578 in 1985 provided that Lamar University-Port Arthur should be renamed a beneficiary institution and receive funds through the Higher Education Assistance Fund.
2. The General Appropriations Act of 1985 directed that a formula be developed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to provide operational funding to Lamar University-Port Arthur on the same basis as other state-supported institutions of higher education.
Senate Bill 78 in 1989 removed restrictions imposed by earlier legislation on the acquisition of real estate and the construction of facilities on campus.
Senate Bill 843 in 1991 clarified the issue of degree-granting authority by granting permission for Lamar University-Port Arthur to issue associate degrees in its own name.
Effective Sept. 1, 1995, by action of the Texas Legislature, the Lamar
University System was abolished and Lamar University-Port Arthur along with
sister institutions in
House Bill 1297 was signed into law in June 1999, changing the name of the institution to Lamar State College-Port Arthur.