Lamar Institute of Technology was chartered in 1949 when the Lamar College Bill was passed. The bill was sponsored in the Texas Legislature by State Representative Jack Brooks and Senator
W.R. Cousins, Jr. of Beaumont. The institute began as the Division of Vocations within
Lamar College. The division became the Lamar School of Vocations in 1955. In 1971, the division began awarding
associate's degrees. In 1972 it expanded its offerings and was renamed as the College of Technical Arts within
Lamar University, which had achieved full university status. In 1990, all of Lamar University's two-year programs were combined into the Lamar University Institute of Technology. When Lamar University was absorbed into the
Texas State University System in 1995, the Institute of Technology became independent. In 1999, the school was renamed the Lamar Institute of Technology by the
Texas Legislature. == Governance ==