WT President Walter V. Wendler Announces Retirement

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, [email protected]

CANYON, Texas - After a decade of innovative leadership and service to West Texas A&M University, President Walter V. Wendler has announced his retirement, effective Sept. 1.

That comes 10 years to the day after he was appointed to the presidency at WT, where he would go on to be tied for the third-longest-serving president in University history.

"Universities earn confidence the right way, through clarity of mission, responsible stewardship and service to the public good," Wendler said. "I am grateful to the faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners who make WT what it is: The Panhandle's University. WT's future is bright thanks to the character of its people and the strength of its purpose."

Additional information about interim leadership and next steps will be shared in coming weeks.

"West Texas A&M University is a public trust, and it exists to serve students and the people of the Texas Panhandle and beyond," said The Texas A&M University System Chancellor Glenn Hegar. "We are grateful for President Wendler's decade of leadership and for the progress achieved under his stewardship. WT has strengthened its academic programs, invested in its campus and deepened its role as a regional research university serving the Panhandle and the state of Texas."

"Walter Wendler has given a decade of steady and consequential service to West Texas A&M University and to the people of the Texas Panhandle," said Robert L. Albritton, chairman of the Board of Regents of The Texas A&M University System. "Under his leadership, WT sharpened its mission, strengthened its academic and research ambitions, expanded support for students and made lasting investments in the campus. The Board is grateful for his leadership, and we wish Walter and Mary the very best in retirement."

Wendler came to WT after serving as a professor of architecture and chancellor of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Prior to that, he served as vice chancellor for planning at the Texas A&M System for two years, among several other roles at Texas A&M University, including dean of the College of Architecture, head of the Department of Architecture and more.

Soon after he arrived, Wendler spearheaded the University's generational plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World, designed to steer the University toward its 125th anniversary in 2035.

One key facet of that plan is Wendler's goal for WT to earn Research 2 classification from the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. R2 schools spend at least $5 million on research and development and award at least 20 research doctorates. A doctoral degree in educational leadership was added after Wendler's arrival, and progress is being made to add up to three new doctoral degrees in the next year. Each doctoral degree is focused on research into regional and rural issues and opportunities.

In 2025, WT was classified as a Research College and University, or RCU, the new Carnegie designation that identifies research happening at colleges and universities that historically have not been recognized for their research activity.

According to the Carnegie Foundation, the RCU designation encompasses institutions that spend more than $2.5 million annually on research, regardless of whether they offer doctoral degrees.

Wendler also led WT to new heights in fundraising, directing the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign that raised about $209 million. The largest such fundraising campaign in Texas Panhandle history, One West has and will continue to transform WT for decades to come.

The campaign had three priorities: People, through scholarships and professorships; Programs, through University and College priorities; and Places, through strategic growth and enhancements across the University.

During the campaign, WT grew from 26 to 109 endowed professorships and chairs. Endowed scholarships increased by 31.3 percent during the campaign.

When combined with other scholarships, more than $8 million is available annually to help WT students to graduate and succeed with reduced educational debt.

Also during the campaign, three Colleges and two schools were named: The Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business, the Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences, the Amarillo National Bank School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, and the Laura and Joe Street School of Nursing.

Three institutes also were established: The Hill Institute, the Panhandle Institute for Engineering Research and the High Plains Christian Ministries Foundation Health Institute.

Gifts to the campaign transformed the WT campus through the spaces like the revived Geneva Schaeffer Education Building, the renovated Joseph A. Hill Memorial Chapel, the completed Bain Athletic Complex, and the newly constructed Happy State Bank Academic and Research Building and adjoining complexes. The Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium officially was named during the campaign, as well. Wendler also led expansion, renovation and deferred maintenance of campus facilities through more than $510 million in investments from public and private funds.

A fierce proponent of reducing student debt, Wendler led the charge for several new initiatives at WT designed to make a university education more accessible for all.

The Educators Excellence Initiative, which launched in June 2025, first offered half-off tuition and mandatory fees to teachers and support staff in all Region 16 Independent School District schools in the Texas Panhandle. It was expanded to include Regions 17 and 18 and all 1A and 2A schools, and finally to include all spouses and dependents of Region 16 employees. A similar initiative now offers half-off tuition and fees to eligible employees of TAMUS agencies around the state.

Wendler also pressed for a deal with two major publishers that provides students with free digital textbooks and ancillary materials. The plan offers a net savings of nearly $5 million a year for students, with the goal to offer no-cost digital textbooks for all courses in the coming academic year.

Wendler also established a new embedded associate degree program, offering students the chance to earn an associate while en route to completing their bachelor's degree and helping keep indebtedness as low as possible.

A native New Yorker, Wendler swiftly took to his new home in the Panhandle, embarking on tours of virtually every public and private high school in Region 16 in 2017 and 2021, and in Region 17 in 2019. In all, Wendler spoke to more than 35,000 students and traveled more than 17,000 miles.

Student enrollment hit a record high of 10,039 students in 2020 and, despite strong headwinds nationally in enrollment numbers, has remained above 9,000 ever since, with current evidence of a strong rebound. WT's Division II athletic programs are consistently ranked among the top 10 in the nation with numerous national and conference championship titles.

Mary and President Wendler will retire to College Station, where he plans to continue writing and speaking about university leadership and issues relevant to higher education.

About West Texas A&M University

West Texas A&M University is a Regional Research University in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers multiple options for students to graduate and succeed: 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor's and master's degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men's and women's athletics programs.

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