The Way Back: Speak for the Trees

By Keana Saberi in Jan | Feb 2025, The Way Back, TXEX on January 1, 2025 at 6:00 am | No Comments

Trees are privy to history, with old oaks possessing wisdom in their trunks—and the nature on the Forty Acres bearing witness to the University’s longevity. Preservation efforts throughout the years prove that campus biodiversity is about more than beautifying the grounds.

“UT’s trees remain one of its greatest assets,” Tim Taliaferro, BA ’05, Life Member, wrote for the January|February 2008 issue of the Alcalde. “In fact, the trees are unique in that they are the only pieces of the University infrastructure that increase in value with age.”

Many are familiar with the famed Battle Oaks near the Texas Union, that existed prior to UT’s founding. And two trees planted at the turn of the 20th century are also still standing: one located adjacent to the Gebauer Building and another called the “monster mesquite” near the Tower.

But it was the 11th president of the University, John William Calhoun, BA 1905, who ushered in the “Live Oak Era” on campus from the 1920s to ’30s. One of the most recognizable trees from his tenure is the Constitution Oak, planted in 1937 for the anniversary of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Calhoun also created the first recordkeeping system for the trees.

In a 2006 phase of campus construction, 16 grand oaks were spared from being chopped down thanks to inaugural UT urban forester Larry Maginnis, who revived Calhoun’s efforts nearly a century later.

Maginnis looked to the past president’s system as inspiration, implementing a plan to care for each individual tree on the Forty Acres, including removing those at risk of collapse. This process allowed him to identify 16 trees out of 40 in the project’s path that ought to be saved before the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium expansion began.

Maginnis’ legacy still guides the Urban Forestry department, which has since carried out several other tree transplant projects.

“This tree was here before this building was built,” Maginnis told the Alcalde in 2008. “And it will be here when you come back to renovate this building again, so you will protect it.”

CREDIT: Texas Exes archive