University of Houston - Victoria

The University of Houston–Victoria is an upper-level and graduate university branch of the University of Houston System which offers junior, senior, and graduate-level work leading to twenty-six bachelor's and master's degrees. Located on the campus of Victoria College, the branch was established in 1973 and became a separate degree-granting institution in 1983, when it was officially named the University of Houston–Victoria. The campus serves the fifteen-county area surrounding Victoria and draws students continuing their education from Victoria College, Bee County College, and Wharton County Junior College. A new campus, leased from Victoria College, was acquired with funds appropriated as part of a college expansion bond package passed in 1989, and the school's original facility returned to Victoria College for use as an administration building. The university awards degrees through divisions of arts and sciences, business administration, and education. Enrollment rose from 350 in 1973 to 1,108 in 1991. That year the Victoria College/University of Houston–Victoria Library held almost 200,000 volumes. In the fall of 2000 enrollment was 1,700, half of whom were graduate students, and the faculty numbered ninety-one. The library's holdings had grown to 218,791 volumes. Karen Haynes was president.