Austin's oldest university is getting ready for a makeover to take it into the future.
Huston-Tillotson University in East Austin is about to expand.
Five generations of students have crisscrossed these
twenty-three acres and many will tell you, it doesn't feel much different today than it did 100 years ago.
The campus has stayed small since Huston-Tillotson's founding.
But now school officials say they're ready for expansion.
"We are excited about the future and where we're going," Huston-Tillotson spokeswoman Vicki Minor said.
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HT Growth
Fundraising begins for new Huston-Tillotson buildings.
 
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Ten acres of parking space will soon turn into a housing complex for married students, a daycare, and a new gym.
The current gym is more than 50 years old, and still doesn't
have air conditioning to this day. Students say they look forward to having a new facility, but they also say they're stronger, because if they can make it here, they can make it anywhere."
"I think the lessons I learned prepare you for the real world
because you have to deal with the good as well as the bad," student Matthew Morris said.
"Primarily it's to position the university to be a little more competitive in terms of attracting students," Minor said.
Administrators said the goal is to increase enrollment from the
current 800 to 1,000 students in the next two years.
"I'm very excited. I've been here for four years now and it's
exciting to see change," Morris said.
Change to make this academic family a little bigger, and with
even more to be proud of.
Enrollment at Huston-Tillotson has steadily increased for the last
eight years.
It's student body has steadily diversified too.
The university is now in the fundraising stage of its plans for
expansion.
The kickoff is a masquerade party this Saturday.
It's open to the public. To find out more call 505-3070.
