Howard Payne University

Howard Payne University is a four-year, private university located in Brownwood, in the U.S. state of Texas.

Currently the university enrolls 1,400 full-time students. Howard Payne is known for the Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom, its Music program and its Christian Studies program. The university is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

HPU founders named the college after Edward Howard Payne, a Missouri resident. Payne, brother in law to John David Robnett, the college's founder, gave the lead monetary gift to start the university.

HPU offers more than 50 majors, minors and pre-professional programs within six schools: Science and Math, Business, Christian Studies, Education, Music and Fine Arts, and Humanities.

Athletic programs include NCAA Division III football, men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, men's and women's basketball, women's softball, men's baseball, track, and tennis. The HPU mascot is a yellowjacket named "Buzzsaw".

Founding and history


Baptist leaders in Brown County saw a need for a Baptist institution of higher education. At HPU's 1889 founding, sister Baptist school Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, would not exist until 1891 and many found travel to another sister Baptist school, Baylor University in Waco, Texas unfeasible. Late nineteenth century travelers found travel methods unreliable at best and placed themselves at risk of attack from American Indians of the Comanche tribe native to the area. Texas recorded its last Indian attack in the early twentieth century near Santa Anna, Texas.

Daniel Baker College, a Presbyterian institution, began operation near the time local Baptists founded Howard Payne. Ironically, DBC backers began construction on a piece of land directly behind where Howard Payne's Old Main Hall would stand and eventually moved the foundation to the NE corner of Austin and Coggin Avenues. DBC and Howard Payne merged in 1953 after DBC fell into financial difficulties, and after extensive renovation, DBC's main building became the Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom building in 1969.

After initial financial difficulties related to the 1890s financial panic, Howard Payne joined the system of colleges and universities funded by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The BGCT operated Howard Payne as a junior college from 1900 until 1914, when it regained four-year status.

Dr. Thomas Taylor took office as university president in 1929 shortly before the stock market crash which began the Great Depression. Taylor kept Howard Payne open when other rural, private colleges failed by challenging faculty members to work without pay and house students in their homes without compensation. At the end of the faculty prayer meeting in which Taylor issued the challenge, most faculty members tore up their contracts and agreed to work without pay until the college began operating in the black.

Taylor's successor, Guy D. Newman, took office in 1955 and before retiring from the post in 1973, created the Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom and built most of the campus buildings still in use today.

In 1974, the BGCT recognized Howard Payne's broad academic scope and approved a name change in the school's charter, from "Howard Payne College" to "Howard Payne University."

In 1984, Old Main Hall, the building symbolic of HPU, burned to the ground during finals week. Although the Brownwood Fire Department headquarters sit across the street from the HPU campus, a prank caller phoned in a false alarm in Bangs, a small town 8 miles from the Brownwood city limits, to which the department responded. Before the crews could return to Brownwood, fire completely consumed the 95-year-old building.

Athletics
The school supports an active athletic program for both men's and women's competition in the NCAA Division III. The school is currently a member of the American Southwest Conference.

National Championship teams
Howard Payne University teams achieved national championship status in 1957 and 1964 in NAIA Cross Country, and in 2007 and 2008 with NCAA Division III Women's Basketball.

Football
Football began at Howard Payne in 1903. Gwinn Henry was named the first head coach in 1912 and coached for two seasons.

Student elected organizations

 * Student Government Association

Service/pledging organizations

 * Alpha Delta Kappa
 * Alpha Psi Omega
 * Chi Alpha Omega (women's Christian sorority chartered in 2002; not the male fraternity)
 * Delta Chi Rho
 * Delta Pi
 * Iota Chi Alpha
 * Gamma Beta Phi
 * International Student Association
 * Kappa Kappa Psi - Zeta Beta
 * Sigma Theta Phi
 * Sigma Alpha Iota - Lambda Epsilon
 * Student Activity Council
 * Student Foundation
 * Tau Beta Sigma - Delta Upsilon
 * Zeta Chi Fraternity

Honorary organizations
Gamma Beta Phi, Sigma Beta Delta

Departmental organizations
Beta Beta Beta, Pi Gamma Mu, SIFE, Social Work Club, Student Speaker Bureau, Athletic Organizations, Cheerleaders, Stingers Drill Team, HPU Yellow Jacket Band, Gold Coats, Student Foundations, Student Ambassadors

Religious organizations

 * Baptist Student Ministry
 * Fellowship of Christian Athletes
 * La Hora Bautista
 * Ministerial Alliance

Past presidents

 * 1) Dr. A. J. Emerson  1890 -1893
 * 2) Dr. John D. Robnett  1893- 1896
 * 3) Dr. James H. Grove  1896- 1908
 * 4) Dr. John S. Humphreys  (Acting President) 1908-1910
 * 5) Dr. Robert H. Hamilton  1910-1911
 * 6) Dr. John S. Humphreys  1911-1913
 * 7) Dr. James M. Carroll 1913-1914
 * 8) Dr. Anderson E. Baten (Vice President & Acting President) 1915-1917
 * 9) Dr. Judson A. Tolman 1917-1919
 * 10) Dr. L. J. Mims  1919-1922
 * 11) Dr. William R. Hornburg (Vice President & Acting President) 1922-1923
 * 12) Dr. Marshall R. Simpson 1923-1929
 * 13) Dr. Thomas H. Taylor 1929-1955
 * 14) Dr. Guy D. Newman 1955-1973
 * 15) Dr. Roger Brooks 1973-1979
 * 16) Dr. Charles A. Stewart (Chief Executive officer) 1979-1980
 * 17) Dr. Ralph A. Phelps, Jr. 1980-1985
 * 18) Dr. Don Newbury 1985-1997
 * 19) Dr. Rick Gregory 1997-2002
 * 20) Dr. Russell H. Dilday (Interim President) 2002- 2003
 * 21) Dr. Lanny Hall 2003-2009
 * 22) Dr. William Ellis 2009–Present

Notable alumni



 * Coffey Anderson, singer
 * Cynthia Clawson, who is a multiple Dove Award and Grammy Award winning contemporary Christian music artist.
 * Keith Crawford, NFL player.
 * Ray Hildebrand, half of the duo of Paul & Paula. Jill Jackson (Paula) also attended Howard Payne but did not graduate.
 * Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan the Barbarian.
 * Jim Reese, mayor of Odessa from 1968 to 1974
 * George E. "Buddy" West, state representative from Odessa, 1993&mdash;2008
 * Tres Womack, Award winning Texas music singer/songwriter. Winner: Song of the Year "Gather Round" 2008 Texas Music Awards, also nominated for Album of the Year honors for "Freak Show". Oldest brother of Drew Womack.  Graduate and former Head Baseball Coach for Howard Payne University.  Nephew of former Howard Payne University President Guy Newman.
 * Joe Simpson, American music manager and reality television producer, and the father of Ashlee and Jessica Simpson.
 * James Criner, Current Varsity Football Head Coach and Athletic Director for the Castle Hills First Baptist School Eagles, also a former Mr. HPU.