Visiting faculty, scholars
enrich LBJ School curriculum

Three visitors brought their unique perspectives, experiences, and inside stories to the LBJ School this year. The trio—a city manager, a former ambassador, and a European Union administrator—is spotlighted here.

Austin city manager teaches LBJ School course
This spring, Austin City Manager Toby Futrell taught an LBJ School course on urban management that focused on current issues facing medium- and large-scale municipalities.

Futrell, who replaced Jesus Garza (LBJ Class of 1977) as Austin city manager in 2002, also replaced him at the LBJ School as a visiting professor. A City of Austin employee since 1967, she has worked on several major projects focusing on economic development and environmental protection. She helped lead Austin’s Smart Growth Initiative that brought major employers such as Dell Computer Corporation, Motorola, and Tivoli to the Desired Development Zone and away from environmentally sensitive land. Futrell was also instrumental in the City of Austin’s purchase of 15,000 acres of water quality protection land and its subsequent purchase of a 100-year supply of municipal drinking water.

Diplomat-in-residence shares experiences
Oliver Pastrano Garza, the former U.S. ambassador to Nicaragua, shared with students his experiences as the president’s representative in a foreign country and worked to recruit the “best and brightest” to the U.S. Foreign Service during his stay at the LBJ School this academic year.

A career Foreign Service officer, Garza served as U.S. ambassador to Nicaragua from August 1999 to August 2002. He has also served as consul general at the American Consulate in Guadalajara, Mexico (1998-99); deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia (1995-98); chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Panama City, Panama (1993-95); minister counselor for administrative affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Korea (1990-93); and deputy executive director for the U.S. State Department’s Bureaus of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs (1989-90).

From 1988 to 1989, Garza served on the White House staff as international affairs adviser and special assistant to Vice President George H. W. Bush. In that capacity, he was a member of the National Narcotics Border Interdiction System, a body organized to assist in the interagency coordination of U.S. domestic and international drug law enforcement and interdiction policy.

Richier is 2002-03 European Union Fellow
André Richier visited the LBJ School during the fall and spring as this year’s European Union Fellow. He is the principal administrator at the European Commission’s Enterprise Directorate-General, the unit responsible for promoting e-business and the competitiveness of European enterprises. In this role, Richier is responsible for policy analysis of the e-economy and serves as a liaison with the information and communications technology (ICT) industry.

Prior to joining the EC in December 1991, Richier held senior management positions in the ICT industry. He was involved in the marketing of the GCOS 7 product line at Bull, an international information technology group that helps its customers take advantage of information technology to drive their market growth. Between 1985 and 1989, he also held marketing and sales positions at IBM.

Record Home • Publications • LBJ School
May 5, 2003
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