Robert William Lawless (born February 13, 1937) is an American academic and executive.[1] He served as president of Texas Tech University from 1989 to 1996 and president of the University of Tulsa from 1996 to 2004. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree (1964) from the University of Houston and a Doctor of Philosophy degree (1968) from Texas A&M University in operations research. Lawless has also served as executive vice president and chief operations officer of Southwest Airlines from 1985 to 1989,[2] after serving in various positions with the airline, including vice president for finance and chief financial officer.[3][4]
Lawless succeeded Robert H. Donaldson, who announced his intention to resign at the end of the 1995-1996 year, after an often contentious 6-year tenure at TU, during which he often clashed with both students and faculty,[a] according to a news article.[4] The same article noted that Lawless angered gay and lesbian students at Texas Tech in 1993 by a letter he wrote, calling their lifestyles "deviant...something that I can never condone, and hold in great contempt."[4]
During his tenure at Tech, Lawless raised the school's endowment. from $40 million to $150 million. Tech also had 24,000 students when he moved from Lubbock, compared to TU's 4,386.[4]
Notes
- ^ Keith Bailey, chairman of the TU Board of Trustees, said that Donaldson's decision to resign was caused by "institutional stresses."
References
- ^ Marquis Who's Who, Inc (1989). Who's who in Finance and Industry. Marquis Who's Who, LLC. ISBN 9780837903262.
{{cite book}}:|first1=has generic name (help) - ^ "Southwest Airlines Co. 1988 Annual Report" (PDF). Southwest Airlines Investor Relations. 27 January 1989. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- ^ "Background Robert W. Lawless". newsok.com. 1996-02-20. Archived from the original on 2015-06-18. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
- ^ a b c d Killackey, Jim (1996-02-20). "Texas Tech President Gets Tulsa Post Lawless to Begin New Duties in State by Aug. 1". oklahoman.com. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
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