University of Texas at San Antonio. Institute of Texan Cultures. Educational Programs Department

The Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC) Educational Programs Department, established as the Educational Services Department circa 1975, was responsible for creating and administering programs for K-12 visitors to the Institute of Texan Cultures museum, as well as for educational outreach programs for students and faculty. The department oversaw school group tours, teacher inservice workshops on Texas history and folk culture, and outreach initiatives. According to a 1978 budget planning document, the department's purpose was to fulfill the Institute of Texan Cultures' state mandate to provide educational program and outreach materials for public schools and adults on the folk culture and history of Texas.

The Institute of Texan Cultures was established by the Fifty-ninth Texas Legislature on May 27, 1965. The agency was directed to develop and implement an appropriate plan for the state's participation in HemisFair '68 to plan exhibits related to the history of Texas, its development, resources, and contributions; and to design and erect a building suited to housing these exhibits, giving due consideration to its utility for state purposes after the fair. The ITC, a permanent state agency located on HemisFair grounds in San Antonio, was designed to study the ethnic groups that settled in Texas. While not a museum, the ITC displayed relics, artifacts, and personal memorabilia, but only those that had a direct connection with telling the story of the people in each ethnic group. The exhibits made use of sound, color, movement, and atmospheric design. R. Henderson Shuffler guided the research projects and formed the original staff.

The ITC's continued function is to bring together, on loan, fragments of Texas history collections from museums and archives throughout the state, to produce filmstrips and slide shows on segments of Texas history, and to publish historical pamphlets and books. The ITC was put under the University of Texas System effective June 5, 1969, and its official title became the University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio. In 1986 the ITC became, more specifically, a part of the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Upon the death of Shuffler in 1975, Jack R. Maguire was named director. Rex H. Ball was director of the ITC in 1995. He was advised by the ITC's development board and reported directly to the president of UTSA, Samuel A. Kirkpatrick. In 1995 there were 100 regular staff members and 450 volunteer workers. The ITC was funded by biennial legislative appropriations, grants, contributions, and funds generated by the sale of publications, audiovisuals, other products, and the rental of the ITC's facilities. In addition to maintaining 50,000 square feet of exhibits featuring twenty-seven cultures and ethnic groups, the ITC hosts the Texas Folklife Festival, the Asian Festival, and other events.

From the guide to the University of Texas at San Antonio: Institute of Texan Cultures: Educational Programs Department Records UA 15. 01. 08., 1971-2004, (University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections)