Texas Exes Honor 5 McCombs Graduates

The quintet received the University’s highest honor, the Distinguished Alumnus Award

The Texas Exes presented the 2025 Distinguished Alumnus Award to six outstanding University of Texas at Austin graduates — five of whom are alumni of the McCombs School of Business — on Nov. 21. The UT Tower was lighted burnt orange to mark the occasion.

The McCombs recipients are Gary Farmer, BBA ’80, J.D. ’84; Bill Gurley, MBA ’93; Fran Harris, B.J. ’87, M.A. ’91, MSTC ’18; Lynn Utter, BBA ’84; and Del Williams, BBA ’83, J.D. ’85. Their accomplishments were celebrated during a dinner Nov. 21 in the Texas Union and at the Texas-Arkansas football game Nov. 22 in DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.

The award, UT’s highest honor, was created in 1958 to recognize alumni who have made significant achievements in their careers and through their service to the University. It honors those whose accomplishments help inspire the next generation of Longhorns.

At the dinner, Jim Davis, president of The University of Texas at Austin, praised the winners. “Your achievements open doors for other alumni. Your generosity creates opportunities for current and for future students, and your lives elevate the reputation of the entire University,” he said.

Gary Farmer
President of Heritage Title Company of Austin

In a new procedure at the dinner, award recipients walk to the lectern to a tune of their choosing before delivering their acceptance speech. Gary Farmer selected George Strait’s “Somewhere Down in Texas.”

He quoted the song — “Life’s not the breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away” — to describe how he felt when he learned that he had been selected for the award. “I must say, and I’ll think you’ll hear it a bunch tonight: This is an incredible honor.”

Farmer, president of Heritage Title Company of Austin, also said: “‘What starts here’ is our calling card. It’s our mission statement. And it’s our parting gift for those that we have encountered along the way. ‘What starts here,’ it connotes greatness; it demands boldness. It talks about and gives rise to discovery and disruption for the greater good.”

Farmer has been recognized with multiple honors, including Austinite of the Year, Texas Outdoorsman of the Year, and Distinguished Citizen by the Boy Scouts of America. He is involved with numerous civic and charitable efforts, including the Chancellor’s Council and Development Board at UT, the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy, and the Texas Business Hall of Fame.

In 2003, he founded Opportunity Austin, the economic development initiative of the Greater Austin Economic Development Corporation, and served as its chairman for 16 years, helping to bring more than 900 companies and 700,000 jobs to the region.

Bill Gurley
General Partner of Benchmark Capital

Bill Gurley took to the lectern as Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream” played. That happens to be the title of his new book and serves as a mnemonic device, he said, so audience members will remember to order it when they get home.

Gurley, general partner at a leading venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, said the honor was both humbling and sobering: “humbling for all the reasons you would expect, but sobering because you don’t get these awards at the beginning of your career; you get them at the end of your career.”

He said he felt compelled to echo the line — “I’m not dead yet” — inspired by “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” Gurley encouraged the award recipients to continue their good works. “We still have a lot of time left to dent the universe. Please keep after it.”

Gurley is a McCombs Hall of Fame inductee, a longtime member of the Dean’s Advisory Council, and a founding member of the UT President’s Commercialization Advisory Board. He has played a pivotal role in the growth of several successful startups, including Uber, Zillow, Nextdoor, GrubHub, Stitch Fix, and OpenTable. He is also known for his blog, “Above the Crowd,” and his podcast, “BG2,” where he explores technology, investing, and business strategy.

Fran Harris 
Founder/CEO of Electra Beverages & Nutritionals

Fran Harris picked “Brick House” by the Commodores as her walk-up song, explaining that her mother had insisted on having a brick house when her thrifty father found a less expensive, wood frame home. Her mother wanted her children to grow up with a solid foundation in Dallas, Harris said.

She thanked her family, the University, and the people who helped clear a path for her. “To the Precursors who marched in this city and on this campus so that I could one day run, play basketball, win championships, and earn three degrees at this university, I stand on your shoulders and I lift as I climb.”

She added: “Family you have always been … the cheese on my nachos, the wind beneath my wings, and the reason I’ve soared with eagles for more than 40 years. Your humor has enriched me, your love has lifted me, your support has sustained me.”

Harris is a former WNBA champion with the Houston Comets and a gold medalist with USA Basketball. She was the captain and leading scorer of the undefeated 1986 women’s national championship team at The University of Texas.

In addition, Harris is a Fortune 100 consultant, the author of 20 books, and a media personality with appearances on “Good Morning America,” the “Today” show, CNN, and Oprah’s Radio Network. She is a TV analyst for the WNBA’s Dallas Wings. She is also the co-founder of The Athletic Club sports complexes and creator of Electra, an electrolyte drink developed by and for women.

Lynn Utter 
Chair of Edesia Nutrition

Lynn Utter took to the microphone as Lyle Lovett’s “That’s Right, You’re Not From Texas” played. “So, no, I’m not from Texas, but I am most certainly of The University of Texas,” she said.

“This university expanded my horizons in ways I never imagined. This university helped me navigate this crazy solar system of trying to be an executive and a wife and a mother and a sister and a daughter and a friend and a Texas Ex. It’s a potent mix. And I am so grateful to so many who’ve been on the journey.”

This year’s function also brought her full circle because she worked as an usher at the Texas Exes Distinguished Alumni Award ceremony when she was a senior at UT, she said.

Her honors include the Friar Society Distinguished Alumni Award, induction into the McCombs Hall of Fame, and recognition as an Outstanding Young Texas Ex in 2004. She has moved to advisory work after a 40-year career in corporate leadership.

She is chair of Edesia Nutrition, a nonprofit that manufactures fortified peanut butter to combat malnutrition. She is an operating partner for Atlas Holdings and an independent director for Lutron Electronics. Utter teaches in the Texas Executive Education program and co-founded the McCombs Women Who Mean Business program.

Del Williams
General Counsel of Hillwood, a Perot Company

Del Williams, who chose Jackson Browne’s “Stay” as his walk-up song, said: “I’m humbled by this recognition and doubly so by the overly generous and kind remarks in the video. I feel a deep sense of gratitude and obligation for the many blessings I have.”

The University of Texas changed his family’s trajectory, he said. “I can never repay what the University has done for us, but I won’t stop trying.” He had great professors and classmates at the School of Law, he said. “Outside the classroom, three Texas Exes gave me opportunities that have meant the world to me.”

Williams received the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award from the UT School of Law and was honored as an Outstanding Young Texas Ex in 2002. He also chaired the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation and served as president of The Dallas Assembly. He has served as chair of the McCombs Foundation Board, vice chair of the UT School of Law Foundation, and past president of both the Texas Exes and the UT Law School Alumni Association.

The sixth Distinguished Alumnus Award winner was Richard J. Reddick, B.A. ’95 (Walk-up song: “Cult of Personality” by Living Colour). He is the inaugural senior vice provost and dean of the undergraduate college at the University. Reddick earned his master’s degree and doctorate at Harvard University. He is the author of “Restorative Resistance in Higher Education: Leading in an Era of Racial Awakening and Reckoning.”

Story by Mark Barron