Tejas Club

Tejas Club

Established	1925
Location	Austin, Texas
Website	http://tejasclub.org

The Tejas Club is one of the oldest student organizations at the University of Texas at Austin. It was founded in 1925 to help mould honorable young men through friendship, leadership, and scholarship. Many of Texas' most successful alumni are Tejas Braves.

Establishment

The Tejas Club was formed in 1925 by Tom Renfro and Howell Cobb with the vision of establishing "a club on this campus composed of men whom we believe to be honorable."^[1] In its early years, Tejas was associated with Theta Nu Epsilon (ΘΝΕ), a nationwide sophomore class society which also included such organizations as Skull and Bones at Yale University, The Phoenix – S K Club at Harvard University, and The Machine at the University of Alabama.^[2]

The official purpose of the club is "to allow our members to live a more complete life by sharing their personalities, abilities and efforts to promote good fellowship and a high standard of conduct among ourselves and our fellow students, to encourage loyalty and usefulness to our school, and to further good scholarship.".^[3] The membership process of the organization is secretive and not open to the public.

On Campus

Tejas Braves have always been a highly involved and diverse group of men at the University of Texas. Members of the Tejas Club have served as student body presidents and vice presidents, head cheerleaders, chairmen of the University Union Board of Directors, and many other important roles on campus.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]}

The Tejas Club celebrated its 90th Anniversary on September 5 and 6 of 2015.^[10][11]

As is tradition, the Tejas Club hosts weekly coffees featuring influential guest speakers. Recent speakers have included actor Matthew McConaughey, Texas Longhorns athletics coaches Mack Brown, Rick Barnes, and Augie Garrido; UT professors Robert Metcalfe, H.W. Brands, and Larry Speck; former UT presidents William C. Powers and Larry Faulkner; former University of Texas System chancellor Mark Yudof; former Secretary of the Air Force Hans Mark; former National Security Agency director Bobby Ray Inman; Athlete Lance Armstrong, and Texas politicians Wendy Davis, Christi Craddick, Kel Seliger, and Carole Keeton Strayhorn among others.^[12]

Alumni

Many notable alumni of the University of Texas are Tejas Braves. The Tejas Foundation was created in 1953 to establish communication between former and current members of the club. To this day, the alumni of Tejas continue to be involved with helping the club provide housing, encourage scholarship, and organize various events.^[13]

Alumni of the Tejas Club include:

• Harley Clark,^[14] former judge, attorney, and UT student body president; creator of the "Hook 'em Horns" hand sign.^[7]
• Alex Cranberg, University of Texas System regent; founder and chairman of Aspect Holdings, LLC.^[15][16][17]
• Robert H. Dedman, Sr.,^[18] former billionaire, founder and chairman of ClubCorp, and owner of the world-famous Pinehurst Resort.^[19]
• Michael L. Gillette,^[20] author, historian, and non-profit executive.^[21]
• W. Page Keeton,^[22] former attorney and dean of the University of Texas School of Law.^[23][24]
• Royce C. Lamberth,^[25] current Senior Judge and former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.^[26][27]
• Austin Ligon,^[28] co-founder and retired president and CEO of CarMax.^[29][30]
• Steve Poizner,^[31] businessman, entrepreneur, and Republican politician.^[32][33]
• Rex Tillerson,^[34] chairman, president, and CEO of Exxon Mobil Corporation.^[35][36]

References

1. "Tejas Club - History".
2. Theta Nu Epsilon
3. "Office of the Dean of Students - Student Activities - Registered Student Organization Database".
4. "Rady, Strickland elected Student Government president, vice president in tight contest".
5. "UT organizations rally to rename Student Activity Center".
6. "A farewell from Student Government".
7. "History and Traditions". Texas Exes.
8. "Student Government Profile: Horacio Villarreal and Ugeo Williams".
9. "University Unions Board of Directors".
10. "Tejas Foundation".
11. "Why is there a Tejas Club?". The UT History Corner.
12. http://mo.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/outandabout/entries/2009/09/09/the_tejas_club.html
13. http://tejasclub.org/foundationabout/
14. "Texas Longhorns Athletics - Traditions: Hook 'em, Horns hand signal".
15. Christopher Helman (13 September 2012). "Newest Iraqi Gusher Could Make Texas Oilman A Billionaire". Forbes.
16. "Regent Alex M. Cranberg - University of Texas System".
17. "The Alcalde".
18. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/21/obituaries/21DEDM.html
19. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1016181/index.htm
20. Michael L Gillette
21. http://www.statesman.com/news/lifestyles/oral-history-rekindles-lady-bird-johnsons-voice/nTHTx/
22. W. Page Keeton
23. "Office of the General Faculty Home Page".
24. "Tarlton Law Library - First Year Societies- online exhibit".
25. Royce C. Lamberth
26. "Chief Judge Royce C Lamberth".
27. "Judge Royce C. Lamberth/Tejas Scholarship".
28. Austin Ligon
29. "UT College of Liberal Arts:". 12 April 2016.
30. "To the Moon ‹ Life & Letters Magazine".
31. Steve Poizner
32. "Steve Poizner".
33. "Steve Poizner On Encore Career Institute". World News.
34. Rex Tillerson
35. Christopher Helman. "Rex Tillerson". Forbes.
36. "The Alcalde".