ATC (Arts and Technical College) was original planned by the Baptist General Convention of Texas to be established near Beeville, Texas at the recently decommissioned Naval Air Station Chase Field.

 Rev. Aubrey Sanders, Pastor of First Baptist Church of Beeville was a leading proponent of bringing an upstart University to Beeville. Sanders would tragically pass away in a car accident in May 1947 returning from a fundraising trip for ATC. 

Tepid support from the City of Beeville and the potential for high maintenance cost for Chase Field led Convention leaders to seek other sites ultimately selecting Corpus Christi at Cuddihy Field.

Reverend E. S. Hutchison, a former pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Houston, was named the first president of UCC yet only served in the role during the first semester of classes.

The Spring 1948 semester would begin at at the permanent home of Ward Island in the buildings formerly occupied by the Radar Training Station.

The first UCC administration building was the former Navy Radar Station Administration Building.

R.M. Cavness who had a deeper background in higher education than Hutchison would serve as President from 1948-1951. 

The UCC student experience included weekly chapel and religious study as part of the curriculum. 

From the start, sports were part of campus life. Football and other sports would come and go mostly due to financial pressures. 

UCC students participated in extracurricular activities such as band and student organizations while enjoying the surroundings of the Island.

Greek life was an early fixture of student life on the Ward Island campus.

Ward Island would become the permanent home of the institution that would later be called the "Island University" due to its unique geography.

Academic programs were established including the marine biology program founded in 1957. UCC quickly became popular for its teacher education preparation and other career focused programs. 

New buildings would slowly replace the wooden Army barracks. This included the Library, constructed through a donation by the H.E. Butt Foundation. Now it is commonly known as the “round building,” it is used for student services.

UCC faced issues becoming regionally accredited and with low enrollment. There were rarely enough students to cover costs and leaders were routinely obliged to seek donations from churches or take loans. UCC enrollment never broke 1,000.

UCC President M. A. Miller served from 1952-1965, the longest among the UCC presidents. His tenure provided much needed stability in the top job on campus. 

In 1970, Hurricane Celia struck a devastating blow to UCC. Damage to the campus was extensive including to the library building and its collection.

The storm and looming recovery proved a “last push” for the Baptist Convention to seek a transfer of the institution to state control.

For its last four years, UCC would be led by Kenneth Maroney. He was a UCC alumni and basketball star. He and his brother, Bob, would both serve many decades on the faculty at the Island University. 

The University of Corpus Christi would graduate the last 23 students in summer of 1973. 

In fall 1973, the university would become an upper division institution in a system with Texas A&I Kingsville and Laredo named Texas A&I University Corpus Christi led by President Jernigan. 

The change to a public institution brought with it a new wave of state and community support. Among the new buildings was Corpus Christi Hall, named to recognize the support received from the university's home. 

Access to state funding and local donations helped provide for a wave of new construction including the Center for the Arts.

A new science building and significantly more classroom space to accommodate the growing student body were constructed during this period.

The Mary and Jeff Bell Library was constructed during this period. It now houses almost 300,000 books in print, special collections, and provides study space for students.

The change marked greater service to a broader group of students. Without a specific focus on one religion and with more affordable tuition, the university became attractive to many more students. 

State backing increased accessibility to higher education on the Island. The university has since become a Hispanic and minority serving institution with a majority female student body. 

The change to a public institution also opened the door for graduate studies to begin on the Island with the College of Education being the first to award masters degrees. 

In 1977, a further reorganization included the renaming of the Island University to Corpus Christi State University with the creation of the University System of South Texas.

The National Spill Control School was began in 1977 and this unique educational enterprise continues to this day. 

Through a gift, the Conrad Blutcher Institute for Surveying and Science was founded in 1987. The institute is a leader in GIS technology and research. 

CCSU would be lead by President Barney Alan Sugg for 13 years. Sugg would go on to lead the University of Arkansas system and enjoy a highly successful career. 

President Sugg was active on campus. He and his family enjoyed living in the Corpus Christi community. 

Dr. Miriam Wagenstein would be named the first Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and become the first female Dean.

New facilities such as the Ruth and Sylvan Weil Gallery honored University supporters while providing welcoming spaces to the community.

Enrollment continued to increase as CCSU proved accessible for the growing Coastal Bend Region. 

With further systemization across the state, there was a push to bring the three U.S.S.T. institutions into the Texas A&M University System. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, was created by legislation in 1989. 

Dr. Robert Furgason would become president of the university in 1990. An engineer by training, he would oversee 13 years of enrollment growth, campus expansion, and community engagement. 

As part of this transformation, campus life and academic offerings would dramatically change. Freshman would return to the Island shifting the almost exclusively commuter student body back to campus one. 

Residence halls and amenities would be built to accommodate on campus students. NCAA Division I sports would be brought to the Island along with the facilities to support top performing teams.  

NCAA Division I sports would be brought to the Island along with the facilities to support top performing teams. Today, Islanders compete in 15 sports in the Southland Conference.

Student services would dramatically increase and a rich, new campus community emerge. A new University Center would be built on the Island.

Traditions such as the Anchor as a campus focal point would be re-emphasized and provided ties back to the early days of UCC.

In 1997, the university would celebrate 50 years having realized a significant and successful transformation to a regional comprehensive University well positioned to serve the Coastal Bend.

During Furgason’s Presidency, the University built Hector P. Garcia Plaza in honor of the civil rights leader, alternative U.S. representative to the United Nations, and the first Hispanic recipient of the Medal of Freedom.

The university’s largest gift to date was received during this time establishing a world class research center. The Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies is named for newspaper publisher and conservationist Ed Harte.

The Harte endowment continues to fund six professors to study the Gulf of Mexico from multiple academic disciplines. The center has been instrumental in studying disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and hurricanes. Furgason became the first executive director of the Harte Research Institute upon stepping down as President. 

The last major project completed under Furgason was the performing arts center or PAC. This glass clad structure overlooks Corpus Christi Bay and in addition to TAMU-CC performances, is home to community performing groups such as the Corpus Christi Chorale and Symphony Orchestra.

In 2005, Flavius Killebrew was named President of TAMU-CC. He would preside over the continued expansion of programs and the campus footprint. Killebrew came to the Island from West Texas A&M University. 

The new Momentum Campus located near Ward Island would provide land to house almost 2,000 Islanders, doubling available beds. These apartment style units offer great amenities for Islanders.

Islander Athletics saw a large increase in its footprint with construction of Island Hall and the Jack and Susie Dugan Wellness Center, Dugan Family Soccer Complex, and the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center. 

New facilities such as Bay Hall would be added to the campus footprint. In addition to sizable classroom space, several Departments from the College of Liberal Arts would call Bay Hall home. 

Michael and Karen O'Connor provided a gift to construct a new state of the art building in 2011. The O'Connor Building is the home of the College of Business.

Dr. Kelly M. Miller would be named President in 2017. She would oversee a continued expansion of the University and also confront some of its greatest challenges. 

Hours after being confirmed as President, Dr. Miller would lead the evacuation for Hurricane Harvey and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021.

Campus expansion has continued as Tidal Hall and a new Arts Building were constructed during this period.

TAMU-CC has expanded outreach into downtown Corpus Christi with the acquisition of the old J.C. Penney Building. The site will bring high community impact programs to the heart of the city. 

The Autonomy Research Institute is exemplary in the  field. The center is a FAA designated test site that has been in partnership with NASA for research projects. 

The University regularly sponsors events that are open to the public including numerous NCAA Division I sporting events as teams compete in the Southland Conference. 

Islanders now study in seven different Colleges spanning the Arts, Sciences, Engineering, Education, Business, Nursing, and Liberal Arts.

The Island University continues to fulfill its core mission to educate learners from the Coastal Bend and beyond. 

Traditions on the Island University, such as ring toss, continue to be practiced and new ones born.

There are over 61,000 Islander Alumni served by staff housed at the Woo Sung Lee Welcome Center on Ennis Joslin Drive.

TAMU-CC continues to be a beautiful campus to visit, work, and learn.