LBJ Museum Honors 50th Anniversary of Higher Ed Act
Fifty years ago, on Nov. 8, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Higher Education Act into law on the campus of his alma mater, Southwest Texas State College- now Texas State University. It was legislation that opened the doors to advanced education for millions of Americans.
This Sunday, on Nov. 8, the LBJ Museum of San Marcos, 131 N. Guadalupe Street downtown, will be open for a special exhibit commemorating the signing ceremony from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free and the public is invited to visit.
The very desk and the chair where President Johnson sat as he signed the bill 50 years ago are on display, as well as photographs and memorabilia from the event. Museum Manager Rafael Garcia will also play the film “The Legacy of Cotulla,” a film by Bob Currie that includes interviews with many people whose lives were forever changed by the legislation.
“The LBJ Museum of San Marcos was established to commemorate the formative years of President Johnson in San Marcos and South Texas,” said Dr. Ed Mihalkanin, board president. “We are happy to join Texas State University in honoring this significant legislation and the university’s role in his early years.”
The Higher Education Act, signed 50 years ago at Texas State University, made a college education attainable for thousands of lower- and middle-income students who might never have considered this possibility.
Pell Grants, work-study, low-interest student loans, the National Teachers Corps, Title IX and more became a part of the act that many now may take for granted.
Inspired by President Johnson’s teaching experiences in a segregated Mexican-American school in Cotulla, Texas, and at Texas State University, this legislation became central to the legacies of the university, San Marcos, Texas and the United States.
The LBJ Museum is open Thursday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekly, and this Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit www.lbjmuseum.com or call 512-353-3300.
