The Peter T. Flawn Academic Center (abbreviated FAC, formerly the Undergraduate Library and Academic Center) is an undergraduate library and "technology and collaboration" facility located on the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

campus. The center, named after former university president Peter T. Flawn in 1983, opened between 1963 and 1964. Upon its opening, the building featured the first open-stack library on campus for undergraduates along with much of the Humanities Research Center. Among the permanent displays in the Center's Leeds Gallery is a re-creation of

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

creator

Erle Stanley Gardner Erle Stanley Gardner (July 17, 1889 – March 11, 1970) was an American author and lawyer, best known for the Perry Mason series of legal detective stories. Gardner also wrote numerous other novels and shorter pieces as well as a series of no ...

's study along with personal effects.

Charles Umlauf Charles Umlauf (July 17, 1911 – November 19, 1994) was an American sculptor and teacher who was born in South Haven, Michigan. His sculptures can be found in churches, numerous public institutions, outdoor locations, and museums, including the ...

's sculpture ''

The Torchbearers ''The Torchbearers'' is a 1962 bronze sculpture by Charles Umlauf, installed outside the Flawn Academic Center on the University of Texas at Austin campus in Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capita ...

'' is located at the front of the building.

History

The undergraduate library was constructed at a cost of $4.7 million, not including the price of the 60,000 volumes it originally housed. In 2005 the library underwent a major change by removing 90,000 volumes to other libraries within the university system and replacing them with "250 desktop computers... 75 laptops available for checkout, wireless Internet access, computer labs, software suites, a multimedia studio, a computer help desk and repair shop, and a café." According to Fred Heath, vice provost for the general libraries, claimed that the University of Texas remains the nation's fifth-largest academic library with more than 8 million volumes. In recent years, the facility has seen occasional usage as a student voting site for various elections.

Features

The fourth floor contains the Humanities Research Center's Leeds Gallery.

References

External links

Peter T. Flawn Academic Center: Hours
{{University of Texas at Austin 1960s establishments in Texas University of Texas at Austin campus