Former Texas President Robert Lawless, who had a decades-long career in academia before serving as Tech’s 11th president and later as president of the University of Tulsa, died Saturday in Lubbock.
He was 87.
A native Texan, Lawless served as Tech’s president from 1989 to 1996 after a career in academia and a stint as chief operating officer of Southwest Airlines. He is credited with leading Tech through a period of change and progress.
Curt Langford, president of the Texas Tech Alumni Association, expressed his sadness over Lawless’ death on social media and offered prayers for Lawless’ wife, Marcy Lawless.
“One of his successful goals was to gain the university’s membership in the Association of Research Libraries, and he increased Tech’s endowment from $40 million to $150 million,” Langford wrote. “Dr. Lawless started the ‘Service Plus’ program at Texas Tech and challenged all of us to be more service-oriented to students. I am proud that Bob still signed my graduation certificate.”
Lawless, who earned a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from the University of Houston and a Ph.D. in industrial engineering (operations research) from Texas A&M University, has a 32-year academic career.
During his career, Lawless served as a lecturer at Texas A&M University and the University of Houston and served as executive vice president and COO of Southwest Airlines until 1989, when he was named the 11th president of Tech and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
For context, TTU and TTUHSC were originally the same institution until TTUHSC became a separate institution in 1996. Lawless was also the last president before the formation of the Texas Tech University System, and thus served as chief executive officer for both institutions—a role now held by the system chancellor.
During his seven-year tenure as president, Lawless oversaw the growth of the university’s endowment from $40 million to $150 million. Enrollment remained stable at approximately 24,000 students at Texas Tech, with the number of undergraduate students declining but the number of graduate and law students increasing.
Toward the end of his tenure at Texas Tech, Lawless oversaw the creation of the International Cultural Center. The center houses resources for international students and faculty, Tech’s study abroad programs, and the TTU Costa Rica campus.
In 1996, Lawless resigned as president of Texas Tech and accepted the position of president of the University of Tulsa, which he held until his retirement in 2004. He later moved back to Lubbock, where he became involved in the community, including at First Christian Church.
Although he left Texas Tech, Lawless’ legacy and influence are still felt on campus, not only through the ICC, but also through the Honor College he built during his tenure. The Honors College’s Lawless House is named in honor of the former president and bears the motto “Integrity,” according to a description of its namesake by the Honors College. The college stated that Lawless lived by the motto “Be true to yourself.”
