Round Rock Campus Records

Texas State University was established by the 26th Legislature in 1899 as the Southwest Texas State Normal School; 313 pupils were enrolled in 1903-04, the first year classes were held. The school name changed to Southwest Texas State Normal College in 1918, to Southwest Texas State Teachers College in 1925, to Southwest Texas State College in 1959, to Southwest Texas State University in 1969, to Texas State University-San Marcos in 2003, and to Texas State University in 2013.

The Texas State University presence in Round Rock, Texas began in 1998 as part of the Multi-Institutional Teaching Center (MITC), which was held in portable buildings on the campus of Westwood high School and offered night and weekend courses focusing on science and engineering. The center was a collaboration between Southwest Texas State, Austin Community College, Concordia University, St. Edward’s University, and Temple College at Taylor. SWT was established as the main institution of the MITC. This project was coordinated and directed by Dr. Edna Aguirre Rehbein, who was the first director of the Round Rock Higher Education Center (RRHEC).

In 2005 the campus underwent a name change and became the Round Rock Higher Education Center (RRHEC). The campus was now a collaboration between Texas State University, ACC, and Temple College at Taylor. TCAT never operated out of the Westwood portables, but offered the same opportunities in Taylor, TX. TXST courses were only at the junior and senior level or for graduate work, while ACC and TCAT offered the beginning course for freshman and sophore level students. SWT offered five ungraduate programs and 15 master's programs at the RRHEC. The other colleges offered associate degree programs that connected students to SWT undergraduate degrees.

In 2004, the Avery family donated 101 acres of land, on which the current Texas State University Round Rock Campus sits. The ground was broken on March 22nd, 2004, and construction began on May 10. TXST also received a $198,820 donation from the U.S. Department of Education to purchase equipment for the RRHEC. The building was officially opened on May 19th, 2006. The Avery Building hosted courses for ACC and TXST students.

As Texas State's plan to start a nursing program developed, they received a donation of $6 million from St. David's Community Health Foundation to fund a nursing school at the Round Rock Higher Education Center (RRHEC) in 2006. Because of this donation, former Texas State President Denise M. Trauth decided to name the school the St. David's School of Nursing in their honor. In 2008, the nursing program was established, with the $6 million donation, to hire faculty, purchase laboratory equipment, and cover other essential school expenses. This helped quickly start the development of the curriculum to meet critical workforce need in health care. After the first steps, Texas State hired contractors Broaddus and Associates, who developed a building plan for the new nursing school at the RRHEC. Their design included four floors with lecture halls, classrooms, offices, advanced laboratories, exam rooms, and other support facilities. Construction began in January 2009, and the building opened in 2010.

In 2011, the campus underwent a name change to become Texas State university Round Rock Campus and has been called this since.