TYLER — Funeral services will be held on Thursday for Dr. George Hamm, former president of the University of Texas at Tyler. Dr. Hamm, who was 79, died Sunday following a lengthy illness. He served as president of U.T. Tyler from 1981 to 1998. Services are scheduled for Thursday morning at 11:00 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler. Visitation is Wednesday evening from 6:00 till 7:00 at the Stewart Family Funeral Home.
President Rodney Mabry says on the school website, “President Hamm influenced the university and the community in such important ways. Among his major achievements were such things as getting permission for downward expansion and building the wonderful R. Don Cowan Fine and Performing Arts Center. He was a major force in the development of the university, and students, faculty and staff will be forever in his debt.” Mabry took office following Hamm’s retirement in June 1998.
During Hamm’s tenure as president, legislation was passed to transition UT Tyler from an upper-level university serving juniors, seniors and graduate students to a comprehensive four-year university enrolling its first freshman class in August 1998.
According to the obituary at the Stewart Family Funeral Home web site, when he announced plans for retirement, Hamm described his years at UT Tyler “as the best and happiest years of my professional life,” and stated, “With each succeeding year, Janie and I have accumulated greater numbers of friends and more enduring relations. The university has grown significantly in stature because of its ever increasing numbers of generous benefactors.”
Hamm was responsible for raising private gifts to supplement university funds for construction of the R. Don Cowan Center Fine and Performing Arts Center at UT Tyler. He established the university’s Distinguished Lecture Series, which has featured such speakers as Henry Kissinger, Coretta Scott King and William F. Buckley.
During his presidency, Hamm secured approval for establishment of the college of engineering, the first at a state university in East Texas. He worked to create UT Tyler’s campuses in Longview and Palestine. New degree programs included master’s degrees in nursing, history, mathematics, biology and political science. His commitment to building and retaining faculty excellence brought scholars from leading universities around the nation to UT Tyler.
Hamm’s leadership also led to construction of UT Tyler’s first on-campus student housing, the University Pines complex. The complex was one of the first in Texas to be built entirely with private funds.
In honor of his contributions to the development of UT Tyler, the UT System Board of Regents conferred on him the title of President Emeritus in 2003, stating: “One of Dr. Hamm’s most significant accomplishments was his leadership in working with the legislature and other community leaders in elevating UT Tyler to four-year status in 1997.”
