UT Tyler opened in 1971 as Tyler State College. It became Texas Eastern University in 1975 and joined the UT System in 1979. For its first decades it took only upper-level students, and it did not admit freshmen until 1998. The wooded campus on Tyler's east side is laid out around a lake. This walk passes the 57-bell carillon, the library, the arts center and the lake.
UT Tyler grew quickly. It opened in 1971 as Tyler State College, was renamed Texas Eastern University in 1975, and joined the University of Texas System in 1979. For many years it served only upper-level and graduate students, and first-year students arrived only in 1998.
The Riter Millennium Carillon Tower, opened in 2001, is the campus landmark. The 88-foot tower holds 57 bells, and the university describes it as the largest carillon in Texas. The R. Don Cowan Fine and Performing Arts Center, opened in 1997, brings touring shows and concerts to East Texas in its 2,000-seat Vaughn Auditorium and hosts exhibitions in the Meadows Arts Gallery.
Much of the wooded campus is arranged around Harvey Lake, formed by a dam begun in 1977, with shoreline paths connecting academic buildings and student housing. It's a green, easy setting, and the visit shows how a commuter college became a full university in about fifty years.
The tour begins in Tyler. Open Texas Roam to follow the full route stop by stop, with directions and audio narration as you go.
It is a self-guided walking tour: 5 stops, about 1.2 miles, ~45 min. Go at your own pace; the app keeps your place.
In Tyler, Texas. The exact starting point, the full stop list and turn-by-turn directions are in the TexasRoam app.
Download TexasRoam for iPhone or iPad from the App Store. The tour is included with TexasRoam+. It is not available on the web map.
Walk in daylight, and check the Cowan Center and School of Performing Arts calendars if you'd like to time your visit to a gallery opening or a carillon performance at Riter Tower.
Texas Roam guides you turn by turn through Tyler with maps, audio narration and check-ins as you go — plus all 5 stops on this tour and every guided tour, hiking trail and historical marker across Texas. Get it on the App Store.
