3 McCombs Graduates Among Winners of Texas Exes Distinguished Alumnus Award
Mark Twain Prize co-creator, retired banking CEO, UT professor of finance selected for their commitment to the University
Ever since 1958, the Texas Exes have honored outstanding graduates with the Distinguished Alumnus Award. This year, the association honored six former students for their commitment to excellence, and three hail from the McCombs School of Business.
The McCombs recipients are Cappy McGarr, MBA ’77; Todd Maclin, BBA ’78; and Laura Starks, Ph.D. ’81. Their accomplishments were celebrated during a dinner at the Etter-Harbin Alumni Center on campus on Nov. 8 and during the Texas-Florida football game at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium on Nov. 9.
At the dinner, Jay Hartzell, president of The University of Texas at Austin, praised the winners and the Texas Exes. “One of the greatest strengths of our University is our network of more than 500,000 living alumni throughout the world, and tonight we celebrate that network, and we honor a handful of specific Longhorns for their profound impact on our University and on the world,” he said. The winners “have earned this extraordinary honor with their personal achievements and their service to society.”
Recipient: Cappy McGarr of Dallas
President of MCM Interests
“When you look at Cappy McGarr, you see someone who’s made his impact on the world several times over,” Hartzell said. McGarr has been an investor and money manager for more than 35 years. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has been nominated for an Emmy Award. He has been appointed to the Kennedy Center board twice — once by President Bill Clinton and once by President Barack Obama.
At the Kennedy Center, he helped create the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which honors comedians such as Richard Pryor, the inaugural recipient. McGarr then helped start the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. In 2021, he published a book about his life, “The Man Who Made Mark Twain Famous: Stories From the Kennedy Center, the White House, and Other Comedy Venues.”
His many commitments to the University include serving as chair of The University of Texas at Austin Development Board and founding the Texas Program in Sports and Media at the Moody College of Communication and the annual McGarr Symposium on Sports and Society.
In his acceptance speech, McGarr thanked the University, his family, and his mentors. “Maybe the greatest lesson I’ve learned from these mentors is the importance of raising your hand. From the moment I stepped … on this campus to the moment I stepped up to this microphone, my life has been better when I’ve raised my hand and gotten involved.”
Recipient: Todd Maclin of Dallas
Retired CEO, Chase Commercial and Consumer Banking
“Now, Todd may not have been our most stellar student. As Todd has said, you cannot spell Maclin without a C, but apparently C’s do not stop you from having an exemplary career in banking and investments,” Hartzell said. “Like our other honorees, he has also served the University generously.”
In 2016 Maclin retired from a 37-year career at JPMorgan Chase and its predecessor banks, where he rose to be chairman of Chase Commercial and Consumer Banking in 2013. He serves on the UT Development Board, the McCombs Advisory Council, and the Executive Committee of the UT System Chancellor’s Council. He also serves on the board of directors of Arvest Bank, Kimberly-Clark Corp., and Trinity Industries Inc.
In his acceptance speech, Maclin said: “I entered The University of Texas as a naive, immature, undisciplined 18-year-old. And early on, I made many, many, many poor choices.” Eventually, he became serious about his studies, and the University was there for him, he said. “It totally changed my horizons; the school and the people I met gave me the ambition and the confidence that I could compete effectively and at the highest levels in banking and even in New York City.”
Recipient: Laura Starks of Austin
Finance Professor, University of Texas at Austin
“Laura’s résumé and her contributions to UT and the field of finance are enough to earn her this honor and any other honor, but to me she’s the person who brought me back to UT, who admitted me to the Ph.D. program,” and who served as his Ph.D. adviser, Hartzell said. She is someone “I’ve relied upon throughout my entire career.”
Starks holds the George Kozmetsky Centennial Distinguished University Chair in the McCombs School of Business. She has received many awards for her research and teaching and has been interim dean, associate dean for research, and chair of the Department of Finance. Starks is a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and has served as president of four major academic finance associations: the American Finance Association, the Society for Financial Studies, the Western Finance Association, and the Financial Management Association.
In her acceptance speech, Starks said: “Although I have received numerous honors, none compares in my mind with the honor bestowed upon me by the
University I have loved and served for so many years. In fact, my feelings for the University I do not have words for, but I do have a symbol.” She then closed by flashing the Hook ’em Horns sign.
The other Distinguished Alumnus Award winners were Sherryl Griffin Bozeman, now an ordained minister who was part of a lawsuit to desegregate UT dorms in 1961; David Lake, an architect whose notable projects include the Pearl Brewery Redevelopment in San Antonio and the Austin Central Library; and Autry C. Stephens, a Midland wildcatter and the founder of Endeavor Energy Resources. Stephens died in August.
