Larry R. Faulkner

Larry Faulkner, a renowned chemist, convened the Commission of 125, a group of citizens who worked for two years to create a vision of the university’s next 25 years. He also led the largest capital campaign to that time — “We’re Texas” — which raised more than $1.6 billion, with total fundraising during his years as president near $2 billion. Other significant achievements were the development of the Blanton Museum of Art, the acquisition of the world-renowned Suida-Manning Collection of European paintings and drawings and the Woodward-Bernstein Watergate archive, the reopening of the observation deck of the UT Tower, and the creation of innovative scholarship programs that helped restore UT's minority student enrollment. Under Faulkner’s leadership, the university implemented an extensive network of services that support the university community, serving as a catalyst for positive change in Texas and beyond. The university’s efforts to improve K-12 education; special initiatives by a wide variety of academic, research and administrative units; and volunteer activities of student organizations and individuals resulted in UT Austin being named Partner of the Year for 2004 by the Austin Partners in Education.