Texas A&M University-Central Texas

of its changed academic offerings, ATU changed its name in 1989 to the University of Central Texas (UCT). UCT subsequently experienced substantial growth, doubling its enrollment from 500 students in 1988 to over 1,000 in 1997, and moved to a new facility located next to Central Texas College. Despite UCT's success, local citizens still desired a state-supported university, so then-Governor George W. Bush initiated an advanced study into the need for higher education in the Killeen area. To that end, the Central Texas University Task Force (CTUTF) was created in 1995, and their work resulted in several recommendations: Primarily, the CTUTF recommended that Central Texas College should remain intact, UCT should dissolve and turn over its assets to the state, and Tarleton State University should establish a campus in Killeen and offer junior-, senior-, and graduate-level courses. These recommendations were accepted, and Tarleton State University–Central Texas opened in 1999. As a result of the Texas Higher Education …