Heman Sweatt Center
The Heman Sweatt Center (Sweatt Center) is a faculty-led student organization composed of professors, administrators, graduate and undergraduate students dedicated to building community and honoring the legacy of Heman Marion Sweatt. Designed to help more male students succeed beyond measure, the Sweatt Center fosters an inclusive and welcoming environment where youth from all backgrounds receive the support they need through mentorship, educational workshops, seminars and creative collaborations.
About Heman Marion Sweatt
Heman Marion Sweatt applied for admission to The University of Texas at Austin School of Law in 1946 but was denied admission based on race. Mr. Sweatt, with the help and assistance of the NAACP, brought legal action against the University. In the landmark case, Sweatt v. Painter, The United States Supreme Court ruled that separate law school facilities could not provide a legal education equal to that available at The University of Texas at Austin School of Law, one of the nation's top-ranking law schools.
The Supreme Court ruling established an important precedent for the desegregation of graduate and professional schools. Challenging the "separate but equal" doctrine, the court affirmed Mr. Sweatt's right to equal educational opportunity and in 1950, he entered The University of Texas at Austin School of Law. The Sweatt decision helped pave the way for African Americans' admission to formerly segregated colleges and universities across the nation and led to the overturn of segregation by law in all levels of public education in the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education four years later.
Read more about Heman Sweatt's life on the Texas State Historical Association's website.
Mission, Goals and Values
Mission
The Heman Sweatt Center is a faculty-led student organization, consisting of professors, administrators, graduate and undergraduate students committed to contributing to the academic success and acclimation of students to The University of Texas at Austin. The Sweatt Center's mission is to ensure the recruitment, retention, graduation and holistic development of collegiate males at UT.
Goals
- Increase the four-year graduation rate for collegiate males at UT Austin
- Increase the number of collegiate males attending universities across the state of Texas.
- Build personal relationships, and foster professional development and on-campus programming.
- Give our students opportunities to succeed, explore and experience new things.
- Ensure every collegiate male on campus knows they are not in this alone.
- Leave the University with the confidence and self-efficacy to excel in any environment.
To achieve its goals, The Sweatt Center includes a research focus that informs public policy experts, practitioners and concerned citizens on how to best create and maintain a culture of collegiate male excellence in K-16 settings through a hands-on practical approach.\
Values
- Health and Wellness
- Academic Achievement
- Professionalization
- Community Engagement
- Global Citizenship
Get Involved
Donate
The Heman Sweatt Center is doing great work, but we need your help to positively impact more collegiate males on campus. Your donations go directly to study abroad scholarships, undergraduate research opportunities, the summer internship fund, the Collegiate Male Retreat, as well as our national exposure trips to Washington D.C. and New York City. If you are interested in donating, please connect with Jerica Swiger, director of development for principal gifts.
We are a relatively small organization and we put every one of your dollars to good use. As a nonprofit, our goal is to accomplish our mission of providing academic excellence, personal and professional development for males, and every dollar is put towards that mission. Your money helps fund a variety of our programs and initiatives that change our student's lives, from providing scholarships, research grants, professional development set-ups and more.
Join Our Alumni Network
Stay connected and engaged with the Sweatt Center by joining our alumni network. Opportunities include The Sweatt Mentorship program, financial donations, creating internship opportunities or attending Power Hour. Complete our Sweatt alumni form to keep in touch.
Initiatives
The Sweatt Center is intentional in ensuring that consistent action is being taken to uplift and progress its members. Being on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin — home to world-class faculty, first-rate research facilities, and nationally recognized athletics — we have access to plentiful resources and are forever dedicated to using them for our members' benefit. Some of our premier initiatives include:
Power Hour
Our premiere initiative, Power Hour, held each week in the Gordon White Building (GWB MPR), is how we keep our brotherhood alive. From intellectual debates to workshops on financial literacy to yoga on campus, this is an hour spent every week enjoying each other in a healthy, supportive, and progressive environment, featuring free food, guest speakers, and more. Sign up for Power Hour.
Study Abroad
With programs in alternating years between Cape Town, South Africa, Ghana, and Oxford, England, study abroad courses allow students to survey history and explore the similarities and differences between their host country and the U.S. while also gaining valuable internship experiences.
College for a Day
College-for-a-Day programs are designed to increase high school males' exposure to higher education. Increasing exposure to higher education helps to create the mentality that says, "I can do that! This is for me!"
Heman Sweatt Symposium
Held annually every spring semester, the Heman Sweatt Symposium on Civil Rights is an event organized by the students, faculty and staff. Our latest symposium, held November 2023, featured a theme of Excellence on the Field and Beyond with speakers Nathaniel Hughes, Trevante Rhodes and Cynthea Rhodes-Patterson.
Black Male Education Research Collection
The Black Male Education Research Collection of resources pertaining to black males and education is an effort headed by Dr. Anthony Brown and Dr. Louis Harrison from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin. The website provides a comprehensive collection of scholarly articles for academics, mentors and anyone in search of literature on this topic. Their focus extends from kindergarten through higher education and includes everything from mentoring, psychological health and sports/athletics. This collection of research is composed primarily of peer-reviewed journal articles; books, book reviews, magazines or dissertations may be added at a later date.
How to Find Us
Heman Sweatt Center
FAC 2nd Floor
2304 Whitis Ave.
Austin, TX 78705