Home » news » 2013 » spring » Forty Acres Scholarship a First for Undergraduate Studies

Forty Acres Scholarship a First for Undergraduate Studies

Judy White and Dudley Oldham first met in the Plan II honors program in the early 1960s. Fifty years later, after bringing up two successful Longhorns of their own, the couple will sponsor the first full-ride merit scholarship for one exceptional Undergraduate Studies student in his or her first year. The Oldham Family Forty Acres Scholar will be chosen from the group of first-year students who enrolls in Undergraduate Studies in the fall of 2014. He or she will be a top caliber student, well rounded leader, have a record of academic achievement, a commitment to community service, and all-around initiative and perseverance.

“There are many very bright, motivated, engaged students who at age 18 don’t know exactly what career or major they most want,” explains Interim Dean of Undergraduate Studies Larry Abraham. “The School of Undergraduate Studies offers an exceptional way for these students to enter UT Austin. We should be offering the same incentives and rewards to these cream-of-the-crop students who aren’t sure what to major in as we do to those students who do know.”

Texas Exes LogoThe Forty Acres Scholars Program, administered by the Texas Exes, fully covers tuition, mandatory fees, offers a living stipend and a book stipend, and financial support for enrichment activities in the areas of community service, a global experience, and professional growth. The Oldham Family Scholar will be funded for all four years college: when she or he transfers out of Undergraduate Studies, as all Undergraduate Studies students must, that student will remain a Forty Acres Scholar.

The Oldham Family

Dudley Oldham (BA, History & Chemistry, ’64; LLB/JD, ’66) and Judy White Oldham (BA, Liberal Arts, ’63) are involved in many aspects of the University of Texas at Austin, as are their two sons, Steve and Mike. While at UT Austin, Judy was a member of Tri Delta and Orange Jackets. She was named a Goodfellow during her senior year. Dudley was president of Sigma Chi fraternity and an officer in the Texas Cowboys.

Judy & Dudley Oldham

In addition to their generous support of our school, Mr. & Mrs. Oldham have endowed a Presidential Scholarship
in Law, a President’s Associates Endowment, and a UT System Chancellor’s Endowment. They are members of the Littlefield Society, the Ashabel Smith Circle and 1883 Society. Mr. Oldham currently serves on the College of Liberal Arts Advisory Council as Chair of the Institute of Molecular Medicine (part of UT Health), and served on the School of Law’s Alumni Association Executive Committee.

Mr. Oldham is a retired senior partner and current Of Counsel at Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P, where he now practices as a commercial arbitrator. He joined the firm in 1966 and served on the firm’s Management and Executive Committee for 23 years. He was elected a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and as member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He served as Chairman of the 35,000 member American Bar Association Tort and Insurance Practice Section, as President of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, as President of the Lawyers for Civil Justice, and on the Board of the Defense Research Institute. He has been awarded the highest ratings by a host of legal organizations and publications, and in 1991 was named one of the outstanding defense lawyers in the nation.

Steve Oldham

Steve is a current and founding member of the Undergraduate Studies Advisory Council. In this role, he serves as an ambassador for UGS and has been instrumental in delivering our message to his community. His volunteer service outside UT includes his role as board member for Millennium Relief & Development Services and for the Boy Scouts of America, Sam Houston Area Council.

In his professional life, Steve is vice president of treasury and investor relations for McDermott International, an offshore engineering and construction company based in Houston. Prior to joining McDermott, he served as Vice President and Treasurer for Pride International, Inc.

After graduating from the University of Texas in 1991 with a B.A. in Plan II and a B.B.A. in Business Honors, Steve went on to earn an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. While at the university, he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta. He served as a student leader of the Texas Relays and an officer on the Interfraternity Council, and was a runner-up for the Parents’ Association Outstanding Student Award.

Steve lives in Houston with his wife, Kitty (B.A. ’91) and three children, Mark (14), David (12), and Molly (7).

Mike Oldham

Mike Oldham serves as chair of the School of Nursing’s Advisory Council and is in the Golden Lamp Society of that school. He has served on the Texas Exes’ scholarship committee since 2009, and also serves on the 1883 Society.

Mike is a founding partner at Reynolds, Frizzell, Black, Doyle, Allen & Oldham, L.L.P., a boutique commercial litigation firm in Houston. He focuses his practice on litigation and arbitration in a wide scope of complex commercial disputes. Previously, Mike was a partner at Gibbs & Bruns LLP, having joined the firm following a judicial clerkship with Judge Jacques L. Wiener, Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Mike is a board member for Heroes for Children.

Mike graduated from UT Austin in 1993 with a B.A. in Plan II with high honors, a B.B.A. in Business Honors, with highest honors, and a B.B.A. in Finance, with highest honors. He spent time at the Universidad de Belgrano in Buenos Aires, Argentina, studying International Legal Studies, then graduated from this university’s School of Law in 1996 with high honors. He was awarded Vice-Chancellor (2nd-highest class ranking), served as Associate Editor of the Texas Law Review, and is a member of the Order of the Coif. Mike has been named a top lawyer by a number of magazines.