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Once the site of a World War II army hospital, LeTourneau University’s Longview campus spreads out over 162 acres of piney woods. Its first students were GIs returning from the war; today its total enrollment is more than 3,600 students from around the globe. Nearly 1,400 students take classes at the Longview campus, while educational centers in Austin, Bedford, Dallas, Houston, and Tyler serve the rest. As an interdenominational university that aims to develop leadership from a Christ-centered perspective, LETU offers 60 academic majors in the aeronautical sciences, business, education, engineering, the humanities, and sciences. Only two hours east of Dallas, LETU recently added two new degree concentrations in flight management and flight marketing and is the only FAA-approved program in Texas to train air traffic controllers. Also, the university’s aviation program will move to an expansive new facility by fall 2009. LeTourneau prides itself on its nontraditional focus, which encompasses academics (a digital writing degree program, for example) as well as student life.
All of LeTourneau’s residence halls are either new or recently renovated, and a new dining hall is set to open in 2009. Outside the classroom, students engage in community service and intramural sports. They attend weekly chapel services in a new 2000-seat facility that also features world-class entertainment. The university’s 11 varsity sports teams compete at the NCAA Division III level. Many students spend weekends on campus for a variety of school-sponsored activities such as the Cata-Pumpkin contest involving student-built catapults and sacrificial pumpkins.