The history of East Texas State Teachers College (ETSTC) comprises the history of the university now known as Texas A&M University–Commerce from its renaming as East Texas State Teachers College in 1923 (to define its purpose "more clearly") to its renaming as East Texas State College in 1957 (to recognize its broadening scope). During this era, ETSTC was led by four different presidents (Randolph B. Binnion, Samuel H. Whitley, A. C. Ferguson, and James Gilliam Gee), two of whom (Whitley and Gee) served for more than a decade. The ETSTC period was marked by increasing recognition, notably through obtaining membership in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) in 1925, as well as marked growth in its faculty, student enrollment, and physical plant. ETSTC grew from 65 faculty