Alton W. Birdwell -- Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches TX - Citizen Memorials on Waymarking.com

This plaque and the beautifully landscaped plaza around it were dedicated to the memory and honor ofAlton W. Birdwell, the first president (named 1917) of what was then known as the East Texas Normal School, which opened in 1922 as the Stephen F Austin State Teacher's College. In 1949 the name of the college was changed to the Stephen F Austin Texas State College, and in 1969 renamed the fourth time to Stephen F. Austin State University.

The plaque reads as follows:

ALTON W. BIRDWELL
(1870-1954)

This Plaza is dedicated to the memory of the first president of Stephen F Austin State teacher's College. In 1917 the state created an "East Texas Normal" and selected Nacogdoches is its location. The State Board of Regents selected East Texas historian Alton W. Birdwell to lead the new institution. From his arrival in Nacogdoches until his death, Birdwell dedicated his life to the interests of the institution and set rigorous standards for the new college. He pioneered higher education in East Texas by forging a lasting partnership with the citizens of Nacogdoches and other towns of East Texas in support of the institution's educational mission. He laid out the campus, established the rules, and recruited a dedicated faculty. He always place the needs of the institution above circumstances. When faced with collapsing enrollments, limited funds, and a legislative threat to close the college during the Great Depression, Birdwell organized a regional defense of the college that saved the institution. Despite criticism. He welcomed Public Works administration aid and continued the expansion of the college's buildings. Birdwell prepared SFA students and oversaw the first campus responses to World War II. As President Emeritus after 1942, Birdwell endeared himself to his successor Dr. Paul Boynton.

In 1953 Birdwell's friends endowed and dedicated SFA's first scholarship to him. On this site in 1954, the region's name and new classroom building in his honor. After Birdwell's death, Boynton said: "the college is a perpetual memorial to the late educator."

The Board of Regents of Stephen F Austin University takes pride in designating Birdwell Plaza a part of the historic campus property he loved. (2009)

Website with more information on either the memorial or the person(s) it is dedicated to: [Web Link] Location: Birdwell Plaza, Stephen F Austin State University

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