Faulkner named to head Houston Endowment

September 8, 2005

AUSTIN, Texas—Houston Endowment Chairman D. Kent Anderson announced today that Larry R. Faulkner will be nominated as president of the foundation at its scheduled board meeting on Sept. 20.

After serving as president of The University of Texas at Austin for eight years, Faulkner announced earlier this year that he was resigning. He plans to join Houston Endowment’s staff around Feb. 1, 2006.

Dr. Larry R. Faulkner

Photo: Marsha Miller

“After a nationwide search, we are pleased to have identified someone who is so knowledgeable about this region. His outstanding record of performance fits well with the principles we value at Houston Endowment,” said Anderson.

“Houston Endowment has a superb record of support and service to the Houston area and beyond. It is a privilege to be invited into its work. I look forward very much to moving to Houston and engaging in its challenges and opportunities,” Faulkner said.

Houston Endowment is one of the largest private foundations in Texas. This year, the foundation expects to distribute more than $65 million in grants to support a broad spectrum of charitable activities in the Greater Houston area. The foundation was created in 1937 by Jesse H. and Mary Gibbs Jones.

While president of UT Austin, Faulkner led a capital campaign that raised more than $1.6 billion. Other significant achievements included the acquisition of the world-renowned Suida-Manning Collection of European paintings and drawings and the Woodward-Bernstein Watergate Archive, the re-opening of the observation deck of the UT Tower, and the creation of innovative scholarship programs that have helped to restore UT’s minority student enrollment.

Prior to his selection as president in 1998, he served as provost, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and head of the department of chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he served on the faculty for 25 years.

Born in Shreveport, La., he received a Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Methodist University in 1966 and was awarded a Ph.D. in chemistry from The University of Texas at Austin in 1969. After serving on the faculty of Harvard University from 1969-73, he began his career at the University of Illinois.

His research has explored areas of electrochemistry and analytical chemistry. Co-author of the prominent text “Electrochemical Methods: Fundamentals and Applications,” Faulkner has received national recognition for his research. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award and a Doctor of Science Honoris Causa from Southern Methodist University. In 2003 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Faulkner has been married to his wife, Mary Ann, for 40 years and has two children, Brian and Susan.

For more information contact: D. Kent Anderson, 713-626-3431.