of higher learning. Pushed through the legislature by State Senator Dorsey B. Hardeman, a former mayor of San Angelo, the former San Angelo College was transformed into Angelo State College in 1965 by an act of the 58th Session of the Texas State Legislature in 1963. The transfer of authority from the board of trustees of the junior college to the Board of Regents, State Senior Colleges, became effective on September 1, 1965. In May 1967, the first baccalaureate degrees were awarded. Shortly after Hardeman retired from the Texas Senate, the name of the institution was changed to Angelo State University in May 1969.
The graduate program was initiated in 1970 with the start of the university's College of Graduate Studies. During a major realignment of the Texas University systems, Angelo State University was designated as a member of the Texas State University System in 1975, along with Sam Houston State University, Southwest Texas State University, and Sul Ross State University, when the 64th Texas Legislature …
