R.G. LeTourneau founded LeTourneau Technical Institute in February, 1946 on the site of the recently-abandoned Harmon General Hospital, a World War II hospital
specialized in treating syphilis. LeTourneau bought the site from the United States
government with the help of
Longview News publisher Carl Estes and other Longview community leaders for one dollar with the
conditions that for the next 10 years, the United States government could reclaim the 156 acres (631,000 m²) and 220 buildings in
the event of an emergency and no new construction or demolition could occur. The United States government also insisted that
LeTourneau establish a vocational school for war veterans on the premises.The State of Texas chartered the school on February 20, 1946, and classes were first held on April 1. At that
point, enrollment at LeTourneau was exclusively male and predominantly veterans. For the first two years, LeTourneau provided an
academy section to allow the completion of the junior and senior years of high school as well as a college section that offered
two-year tradeskill programs and a four-year technology program. Students attended classes on alternating days; while one half of
the students were in class, the other half worked at R.G. LeTourneau's LeTourneau
Incorporated, thus satisfying the laboratory requirements of all of the industrial courses.From 1946 to 1961, LeTourneau Technical Institute and LeTourneau, Inc. were one unified company under R.G. LeTourneau. In
1961, LeTourneau Technical Institute underwent a transformation into the co-educational
LeTourneau College and began to offer bachelor's degrees in engineering, technology, and a limited number of arts and sciences.
At this point, the college began to transition from the traditional wooden barracks buildings. The Tyler Hall Dormitory for men
was erected in 1962, the Margaret Estes Library in 1963 and the Hollingsworth Science Hall in 1965.The college continued to grow under the leadership of Allen C. Tyler in 1961 and
1962 and Richard E. LeTourneau (eldest son of R.G. and Evelyn) from 1962 to 1968. Harry T. Hardwick's presidency from 1968 to 1975 saw to the construction of the R.G. LeTourneau Memorial
Student Center and the Longview Citizens Resource Center along with spearheading LeTourneau's accreditation by the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools. Richard LeTourneau again assumed the presidency from 1975 to 1985, where he oversaw the accreditation of the school's mechanical and
electrical engineering programs by the Engineer's Council for Professional Development (now the Accreditation Board for
Engineering and Technology) and supervised nine major construction projects, including the Trinity Dorms and the school's
aviation facility at the Gregg County Airport. LeTourneau College became LeTourneau University under President Alvin O. Austin,
who has served since 1986. President Austin has overseen the development of a MBA program
and has seen to the removal of all wooden barracks from the campus, along with the construction of the Belcher Bell Tower, the
Solheim Recreation and Activity Center, the Glaske Engineering Center, seven new dormitories, and the expansion to campuses in
Houston, Dallas, Tyler, Austin and Bedford.