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The University of Texas at El Paso, nestled in the rugged foothills of the Franklin Mountains, is a picturesque campus that evokes a different time and place. The UTEP campus, with its architecture inspired by the tiny nation of Bhutan, fosters a sense of peace and serenity that is comforting to students, faculty, staff and visitors. Known as the Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy in its early days, the institution opened in 1914, supported by local residents and business owners who pledged $50,000 to The University of Texas Board of Regents for the creation of a mining school in El Paso. |
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Starting out small but armed with a big vision, the school debuted with 27 students who went to class in the desert east of Fort Bliss, just north of the Rio Grande. The enrollment climbed to 39 by 1916, a modest increase but an indication, however subtle, of what was to come. That same year, however, the school suffered a serious setback when one of the main buildings burned down. Determined to overcome the loss of the facility—and the water shortage at Fort Bliss—Dean Stephen Howard Worrell began searching for a new location. Civic leaders came to his aid, donating land that overlooked Sunset Heights, an area set against the mountain backdrop that is home to the UTEP campus today. It was around this time that the University began to take on the distinctive look and aura that make it one of the most beautiful campuses in the country.  Kathleen Worrell Kathleen Worrell, wife of the dean, was fascinated with a photo essay on Bhutan that appeared in the April 1914 issue of National Geographic magazine. Three years later, still captivated by the evocative photos in the periodical, she told her husband about the article, titled “Castles in the Air,” which recounted the travels of British diplomat and engineer John Claude White across Bhutan. White took hundreds of photos, 74 of which accompanied the article— among the first photographs ever published of the ancient and isolated kingdom, nestled deep in the Himalayas between Tibet and India. The first building inspired by the Bhutanese architecture, Old Main, opened in 1917. In 1920, the school changed its name to the College of Mines and Metallurgy, El Paso, and in 1949, the name changed again, this time to Texas Western College. |  |
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I n 1967, the institution would
assume the name it still carries
today—The University of
Texas at El Paso, a school that has
grown in both size and reputation.
Throughout the decades, the two constants on campus have been the architecture and the fierce commitment to a quality education. Today, UTEP is an urban university serving more than 21,000 students in the El Paso/Juárez metropolis of more than 2 million residents on the U.S.-Mexico border. |
More than 89,000 students have graduated from UTEP since 1914, including a number of Bhutanese students.
While forging ahead academically, the University maintains deep roots in the past, a legacy that remains vibrant through a strong commitment to the Bhutanese style of architecture, with its sloping walls, overhanging roofs and high windows, along with the mosaic-tiled mandalas—the geometric patterns that symbolize unity and wholeness—that adorn the dark bands of brick on each facility.
Bhutan with initiatives that foster understanding and appreciation of its people, culture and traditions; the University Library recently unveiled an impressive tapestry—15 feet wide at the top, 16 feet at the bottom and more than 23 feet in length—delivered by a young Bhutanese woman who attends the University, Sonam Wangmo.
Along with the tapestry, UTEP is home to many beautiful Bhutanese cultural artifacts, including intricate wood carvings.
The University sponsors bi-annual “Bhutan Days,” which bring performers and artisans from Bhutan to the campus and the Paso del Norte community.
In 2008, the Bhutan Festival included dancers and musicians from the Bhutan Royal Academy of Performing Arts to El Paso, where they performed an array of traditional dances. The event was attended by His Royal Highness Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck of Bhutan.
Along with the outward expressions of culture, however, the special relationship between UTEP and Bhutan is profound and intimate, deeply embedded within the hearts and souls of all who teach, study and visit this beautiful campus.
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