Texas A&M University, often Texas A&M, A&M or TAMU for short, opened for classes in 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical [Engineering] College of Texas. In 1963, the legislature changed the name to "Texas A&M University" to reflect the expanded roles and academic offerings of the university. Officially the letters "A&M" no longer have any explicit meaning, but they are retained as a link to the university's past.