The West Texas A&M University Student Body issued a resolution that supports keeping the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum on the campus in Canyon.
The museum has been on shaky ground since March 2025, when WT President Walter Wendler closed the museum temporarily due to infractions cited by the State Fire Marshal who found a number of infractions which deemed it a danger.
Although staff has been working on keeping the artifacts safe and having remote programs and events, the future has become uncertain as to whether the century-old building will remain the depository of two million treasured artifacts, which are owned by the PPHA. There have been protests, meetings, a town hall meeting and a Canyon City Commission addressing the future.
Recently, at a Town Hall meeting at Cole Community Center, around 100 individuals attended a meeting led by the Panhandle-Plains Historical Society which had been virtually silent up to that point. The society talked about various possibilities and moving portions of the museum to other sites but have indicated that the future is likely up to President Wendler and the Texas A&M System, which owns the building.
The WT student body issued this resolution on Feb. 16, 2026:
SR 21026
February 16th 2026
A SENATE RESOLUTION TO BE ENTITLED: Advocation for the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum to Remain on Campus
WHEREAS: The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum has a shared history with West Texas A&M University, being housed on its campus since its inception in April 1933; and
WHEREAS: The Museum being the largest historical museum in Texas, housing over two million artifacts and having hosted over 50,000 visitors annually, serves not only University faculty and students, but also the local and state communities; and
WHEREAS: The Museum offers research opportunities and hands-on learning, as well as strengthens the University’s role as a cultural hub for the Panhandle and enhances the University’s statewide prestige and identity; and
WHEREAS: The University’s Mission Statement, Vision Statement, Core Values Statement, and WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World outline an obligation for the University to serve the top twenty-six counties of Texas which make up the Texas Panhandle; and
WHEREAS: The Museum was closed in March 2025 due to fire safety issues with the building which houses the Museum;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE WEST TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY STUDENT SENATE THAT: Appropriations be made to make repairs to the building housing the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum so it may remain on the campus of West Texas A&M University.
THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be sent to Mary Vivian Ivey, President of the Student Body; Boone Begert, Vice President of the Student Body; Hunter Heady, Chief Justice of the Student Body; Dr. Christopher Thomas, Student Government Association Advisor; Ellen Jones, President of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Society Board of Trustees; and Dr. Walter V. Wendler, President of West Texas A&M University.
First Reading: West Texas A&M University, In keeping with the SGA’s rules of order, no vote was taken.
Statement from WT Officials:
A symbolic resolution in favor of keeping Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum on the West Texas A&M University campus was given a first reading Feb. 16 at the WT Student Government Association’s weekly meeting.
In keeping with the SGA’s rules of order, no vote was taken, according to WT officials. The resolution may be brought to a vote at an upcoming SGA meeting, where it could be passed as is, rewritten and then voted upon, or rejected.
Wendler spoke about the museum for about an hour Feb. 9 with Student Government Association members to reiterate his goal of keeping the museum on the WT campus, and appreciates that SGA members, through this symbolic resolution, feel the same.
In an update on the situation, an anonymous donor worked with Choice Media to add a two-sided digital billboard at I-27 and Hillside. The billboard reaches 700 views per day, according to Lisa Jackson, activist with the Save Our Museum movement.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: WT SGA issues resolution to keep Panhandle-Plains museum
Reporting by Nell Williams, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
