The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 100, July 1996 - April, 1997 Page: 265

Book Reviews

denominationalism was really all that new, or merely a refinement of tendencies
long present among some Baptists, is debatable. Still, this is a good study.
Lamar University JOHN W. STOREY
Transitions: The Centennial History of the University of Texas at Arlington, 1895-z995.
By Gerald D. Saxon. (Arlington: University of Texas at Arlington Press, 1995.
Pp. xiv+19o. Foreword, acknowledgments, preface, notes, bibliography, illustra-
tions, credits, index. ISBN 0-932408-19-2, $29.95, cloth.)
Gerald D. Saxon has prepared a concise history of the University of Texas at
Arlington (UTA) that depicts a 1 oo-year struggle by strong-hearted advocates of
education to provide access and seek excellence. Current UTA President Robert
E. Witt says it well in the book's foreword: "It is a history written in terms of vi-
sion and values, individuals and events, social and economic forces, the politics
of Texas, a few failures and many more successes."
Created in 1895 as a private school, called Arlington College, it had a slow be-
ginning. Four attempts by the Arlington community and educators to establish
and support a private intermediate and secondary school in the town failed as fi-
nancial and even legal difficulties mounted. By 1917, leaders in the community
set out to convince the legislature that a junior college should be established in
Arlington. The result was that Grubbs Vocational College, a branch of Texas
A&M, opened its doors in 1917. Grubbs became North Texas Agricultural Col-
lege (NTAC) in 1923 and Arlington State College (ASC) in 1949.
Saxon uses his sources well as he describes the slow development of the insti-
tution. After the change to ASC occurred, he notes fundamental changes during
the next eighteen years: the school became a senior college, was the first Texas
A&M school to integrate, added graduate-level courses, saw enrollment grow sig-
nificantly, began a land acquisition and building program, and gained national
recognition in football.
In 1965 ASC moved from the A&M to the University of Texas system as the
University of Texas at Arlington and announced its readiness to become a re-
search-oriented university for the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. During the next
twenty-five years the university emerged as a highly respected state university,
with enrollment passing 25,000.
Saxon does not neglect important changes in the student culture. He discuss-
es student activities and traditions, student leadership, intramural sports, the
Rebel theme controversy, and campus diversity.
This book will be treasured by former students and will be useful to those in-
terested in the development of higher education, especially in Texas.
University of Texas, Austin MARGARET C. BERRY
Justice Lies in the District: The U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, 902-9i6o.
By Charles L. Zelden. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1993.
Pp. xii+3 13. List of illustrations, list of tables, acknowledgments, introduction,

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