BY MACKENZIE JOHNSON / Multimedia Journalist
When Tarleton State University’s Stephenville campus was born 125 years ago, 127 students were enrolled and there was one single building on the John Tarleton grounds that housed the entirety of offered classes. The wooden building was known as College Hall and the handful of rooms were filled with no more than a few desks for students to sit in and a small number of blackboards for teachers to write on.
Today, Tarleton is home to roughly 35 buildings on the 170 plot of acreage, from academic classrooms to residence halls, along with 18,000 students to fill them. Like never before, Tarleton is able to offer Texans with the best opportunities to reach success - and it’s just the beginning.
The university has made leaps and bounds since its creation over a century ago, and one of the frontrunners who’s helped springboard Tarleton’s recent growth is Texas A&M University Chancellor John Sharp.
As a chancellor, Sharp oversees all 11 universities and eight agencies in the A&M University System. Both the agencies and presidents of the universities report to Sharp directly. From there, he reports to the non-member board of regents in order to recommend the hiring of each president and CEO of an agency. Implementing federal policies and financial management also falls in the wheelhouse of a chancellor’s job description, along with many other responsibilities, such as managing his administration.
“What I encourage all of my staff, presidents and CEOs to do is think way out of the box,” Sharp said. “Don’t just assume that because something is not on your campus, it shouldn’t be on your campus. That’s what too many agencies, too many universities, are stuck in. They always do what they’ve always done, and we don’t follow that.”
Sharp graduated from A&M in 1972 with a degree in political science. Before stepping in as A&M chancellor, he served in the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas Senate, the Texas Railroad Commission and as a state comptroller. These decades of experiences in public service have greatly influenced Sharp’s journey as a chancellor and how he leads his administration.
“One of the things that’s most important to each one of our universities and agencies is the ability to get resources from the state government and the federal government for research grants, money for buildings and things like that,” Sharp said. “Having that prior experience in dealing with the legislature and the governor’s office has been important in making sure that we are the kind of place where they can feel comfortable investing their money, but I think the best thing that we have going for us is we have some really great presidents. And Hurley’s right up there at the top.”
Sharp and Tarleton’s 16th University President Dr. James Hurley talk on a regular basis in order to ensure Tarleton stays on the right track. Sharp praises Dr. Hurley for his role in keeping Tarleton surging ahead.
“He’s a president that really is visionary and looks into the future in a hurry,” Sharp said. “He wants to get his university in the very top tier that he can and that makes Dr. Hurley one of the real shining points of Tarleton. He pushes the edges, pushes the limits, and is not shy about asking for things, and the Board of Regents and I are not shy about investing in Tarleton.”
The question of how to best invest in Tarleton is one constantly being turned over in the minds of Sharp, Dr. Hurley and the board.
“Just so far this year, we’ve approved $70 million in construction for Tarleton in 2025,” Sharp said. “Over the last 10 years we’ve done more than a half a billion dollars in construction, and have gotten another 70 already approved by the board to begin in 2025. And there are several others that we’re looking at as well - we want to go to the legislature to try to get a new agriculture school building and get a new medical school for Tarleton.”
Keeping that momentum going is crucial in capitalizing on Tarleton’s fast paced growth.
“We decided early on that Tarleton is going to be one of those stars in Texas,” Sharp said. “Everybody at the system office and the board office is absolutely committed to making Tarleton the very best it can be and getting the resources to make that happen.”
The reason as to why Tarleton deserves to be invested in is simple, as it holds a special place in the A&M University System.
“Tarleton is one of the real crown jewels of our system,” Sharp said. “Only two of our regional universities draw students from virtually the entire state, and other than A&M, that’s Corpus Christi and Tarleton.”
Tarleton is certainly drawing in students from the state, as this year’s freshman class has exceeded 3,000 students - the largest class yet. Tarleton also now pulls students from 230 out of the 254 counties in Texas, being one of the few universities in Texas other than A&M and The University of Texas at Austin that does.
“Tarleton also just has great traditions,” Sharp said. “It has a lot of support from the community, a great alumni association that’s willing to put their money where their mouth is and all of the things necessary to really blow the socks off of everything. I think over the last 12 years or so, it has really been the golden age of Tarleton that people will look back on and say, man, this is when this place took off.”
Tarleton’s expansion has been truly a remarkable one, but the university isn’t the only place that’s developed. The city of Stephenville has also benefited from the success of Tarleton.
“Winston Churchill once said, ‘if you want to create a great city, first create a university and then wait 50 years,’” Sharp said. “All of our presidents and CEOs of the agencies work very hard in community outreach and serving the public, and certainly Tarleton is no exception to that… We work real hard to make sure that the people in the community know what we’re doing, approve of what we’re doing and support us.”
After 14 years of service, Sharp is preparing to retire in late June of 2025. Although Sharp inevitably can’t maintain his position as chancellor for the next 125 years to come, he’s certain that because of Tarleton’s esteemed legacy and the people behind it, the next century and a quarter will involve many more milestones and accomplishments for the university.
“Tarleton has what people want,” Sharp said. “The culture of the students, the culture of the faculty - it’s what Texans are looking for. They’re looking for young men and women that get there early, stay late and by large are dedicated to their jobs, families and public service. Tarleton is a really good reflection of what Texas is about… And that culture is worth its weight in gold.”
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