The Lamar University System was a state university system established in 1983 with four existing institutions: the flagship

Lamar University Lamar University (Lamar or LU) is a public university in Beaumont, Texas. Lamar has been a member of the Texas State University System since 1995. It was the flagship institution of the former Lamar University System. As of the fall of 2021, t ...

, and the member institutions

Lamar State College–Port Arthur Lamar State College Port Arthur is a public community college in Port Arthur, Texas. The college has 2,740 students as of the Fall 2019 semester. It is a member of the Texas State University System. History Lamar State College Port Arthur is a t ...

, Lamar State College–Orange (both two-year community colleges), and

Lamar Institute of Technology Lamar Institute of Technology (LIT) is a public technical school in Beaumont, Texas. LIT was formerly a part of Lamar University, but became a separate institution when the university joined the Texas State University System in 1995. History ...

. The System and its member institutions were all named for

Mirabeau B. Lamar Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar (August 16, 1798 – December 25, 1859) was an attorney born in Georgia, who became a Texas politician, poet, diplomat, and soldier. He was a leading Texas political figure during the Texas Republic era. He was electe ...

, second president of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from M ...

, called "The Father of Texas Education," who had provided for land allocations in each county for schools, as well as for two universities. But the public school system was not fully established until 1869 under the Reconstruction era legislature, which provided a funding mechanism. Texas A & M was the first statewide college, established in 1876 under the

Morrill Act The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S. states using the proceeds from sales of federally-owned land, often obtained from indigenous tribes through treaty, cession, or s ...

. The Lamar University System was established by the 68th Session of the Texas Legislature with the passage of SB 620, which took effect in August 1983. On September 1, 1995, the Lamar University System was abolished. Its components became members of the

Texas State University System The Texas State University System (TSUS) was created in 1911 to oversee the state's normal schools. Since its creation it has broadened its focus and comprises institutions of many different scopes. The other systems of state universities are th ...

References

{{Reflist Education in Texas 1983 establishments in Texas 1995 disestablishments in Texas