February 26, 2018 - UT Press has released a book highlighting a pivotal point in its history, a glimpse into the lives of the first Black undergraduate students to enroll at the university. The book, "As We Saw It," features a Center native who was the first Black female student athlete to play basketball for UT Austin - Retha Swindell.
She attended UT on a 4-year, full ride, academic scholarship, a Texas Achievement Scholarship. She played basketball because she loved the game and wanted to continue playing; Rodney Page at UT asked her to play her freshman year. After that, Jody Conradt was her coach.
Swindell attended Center HS and graduated 4th in her class in 1975. She was also a Center High School Alumni Association 2014 Hall of Honor Award recipient.
To read the article on ShelfLife@Texas, 'Celebrating Black History Month: Sneak Preview Into ‘As We Saw It,’' click the following link - http://sites.utexas.edu/shelflife/tag/retha-swindell/. The article includes an abridged chapter about Retha Swindell.
