Hector DeLeon, Earnest F. Gloyna and Mrs. Lyndon Baines "Lady Bird" Johnson have been selected to receive the prestigious Presidential Citation for 2007 awarded by William Powers Jr., president of The University of Texas at Austin.
The Presidential Citation was created in 1979 to recognize the extraordinary contributions of individuals who personify the university's commitment to the task of transforming lives. The university does not award honorary degrees, and these citations are designed to salute those whose service exemplifies the values shared by The University of Texas at Austin community. Three students will receive a Presidential Citation Endowed Scholarship, one each in honor of the recipients.
DeLeon, a native of Austin and an alumnus of The University of Texas at Austin's School of Law, is founder and managing partner of the 30-year-old Austin law firm DeLeon, Boggins & Icenogle, PC. In addition to being a former president of the Texas Ex-Students Association and lifetime member of the University Development Board, DeLeon has been an adjunct professor since 1990 and has established scholarships in the School of Law and the College of Education. He also has contributed his time and expertise serving on numerous university councils and committees, including the Commission of 125.
Gloyna, professor emeritus of civil engineering and the Bettie Margaret Smith Chair in Environmental Health Engineering, has dedicated his career to teaching, research, administration and leadership of the university's College of Engineering. He also is an alumnus, having received his master's degree (environmental engineering) from the university in 1949. The former dean of the College of Engineering also is the author or co-author of seven United States patents, three books and more than 300 technical publications on wastewater treatment, industrial waste minimization, water use and reuse, general environmental engineering, air pollution control and engineering education. His leadership in engineering during the past 60 years has contributed toward the growth and prestige of the environmental engineering profession and the university.
Johnson, born Claudia Alta Taylor in Karnack, Texas, received degrees from The University of Texas at Austin in 1933 and 1934. She is best known as first lady of the United States during the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson, but she also is recognized as an environmentalist whose national campaign for beautification led to the Highway Beautification Act of 1965. Her leadership and contributions led to establishment of the National Wildflower Research Center, which in 1997 was renamed the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in honor of her 85th birthday. Her work during her White House years as honorary chairman of the National Head Start Program to help prepare underprivileged pre-school children to take their places in classrooms earned her the Medal of Freedom award, presented in 1977 by President Gerald Ford.
