The most consequential ideas often reflect a simple elegance.

So it is with a concept that blossomed this year for university-building in Texas. Trace it back, and you find the starting place in Richardson, on the campus of UT-Dallas, in the president's office, in the studious mind of David E. Daniel.
For his bright idea, pluck and dedication to building a better state, we salute David Daniel as a finalist for 2009 Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year.