The history of East Texas State College (ETSC) comprises the history of the university now known as Texas A&M University–Commerce from its renaming as East Texas State College by the Texas Legislature in 1957 (in recognition of the school's expansion beyond its original scope of teacher education) to its renaming as East Texas State University by Governor John Connally in 1965. The ETSC era witnessed substantial growth of both student enrollment (from approximately 3,100 students in 1958–59 to 6,810 in fall 1965) and the college's physical plant (a new library, student center, and multiple dormitories were built, and by 1966 the value of the school's buildings exceeded $22 million). Academic developments during this period were also significant, including the establishment of an honors program in 1961, the authorization to grant doctorates in English and education from 1962, and a continued increase in the percentage of ETSC professors holding Ph.D.s (reaching 58% in 1966, compared to roughly 45% in 1957).
