Corps Cadet at Kyle Field. Source: Texas A&M University
Twelve Aggies have been selected as the 2020 recipients of the highest honor bestowed upon a former student of Texas A&M University, the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Texas A&M and The Association of Former Students are proud to welcome as Distinguished Alumni:
Dr. C. M. Cocanougher ’53 of Decatur Weldon Jaynes ’54 of Arlington LTG Randolph W. House ’67 of College Station R. Sam Torn ’70 of Houston John D. White ’70 of College Station Dr. R. Bowen Loftin ’71 of Bryan Carol E. Jordan ’80 of Lexington, Kentucky Willie T. Langston II ’81 of Houston Tim Leach ’82 of Midland Thomas J. Saylak ’82 of Scarsdale, New York Mike Hernandez III ’83 of Fort Worth Charean Williams ’86 of Arlington
Since the inception of the award in 1962, only 303 of Texas A&M’s 527,000 former students have been recognized with the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Awarded jointly by Texas A&M and The Association of Former Students, this honor recognizes those Aggies who have achieved excellence in their chosen professions and made meaningful contributions to Texas A&M University and their local communities.
“We are proud of these wonderful former students and all of their accomplishments and contributions,” says Texas A&M University President Michael K. Young. “They are all deserving of the highest honor bestowed upon our alumni. We look forward to joining The Association in recognizing their achievements.”
The recipients learned of their honor via surprise announcements from university and Association representatives, including Young, The Association of Former Students’ 2020 Chair of the Board Cathy Mann ’92, Association President and CEO Porter S. Garner III ’79, Texas A&M Foundation President Tyson Voelkel ’96, 12th Man Foundation President Travis Dabney ’96, and a Ross Volunteer.
“Our 2020 Distinguished Alumni lead and excel in a wide array of career fields," says Mann. "While their experiences span diverse career fields, they each consistently embody our core values of excellence, integrity, leadership, loyalty, respect, and selfless service and represent the Aggie Network with distinction.”
Garner echoed the sentiments of Young and Mann and offered his congratulations on behalf of The Association of Former Students.
“The Distinguished Alumnus Award is the highest honor bestowed upon a former student of Texas A&M. Those we honor in 2020 are in elite company, with fewer than one-tenth of one percent of our 527,000 former students recognized with this prestigious award."
The Association of Former Students is honoring the 2020 recipients in the July through August 2020 issue of its Texas Aggie magazine.
Nominations for the 2021 Distinguished Alumnus Award will be accepted through Oct. 2 at tx.ag/DAnominations.
Three Bryan College Station residents are among the 2020 Distinguished Alumni: Randolph House ’67, John D. White ’70 of College Station, and Dr. R. Bowen Loftin ’71 of Bryan:
LTG Randolph W. House ’67 was an Army officer for more than 32 years, commanding in peace and war at every level from rifle platoon leader to deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Command. He has served 2003 through present on the board and as president of the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial and is a mentor to the Texas A&M student organization Student Conference on National Affairs. He has served on the board of visitors for Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service and for Texas A&M University at Galveston. His awards for valor include the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Silver Star, the Soldier's Medal, four Distinguished Flying Crosses, 32 Air Medals, and four Vietnamese Crosses of Gallantry. He was inducted in 2001 as a “Legend of Aggieland” and is a member of the Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor and the Tyrus R. Timm Honor Registry in Texas A&M’s Department of Agricultural Economics.
John D. White ’70 is a former Air Force judge advocate with more than 40 years’ experience as a fund manager and lawyer. He is a chairman emeritus of The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, a trustee of the George and Barbara Bush Foundation, a former board member of The Association of Former Students, a former board chairman for the Ed Rachal Foundation, a past director of the University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Company and a former director of the Greater Houston Partnership. He is a Corps Hall of Honor inductee and a namesake of Texas A&M’s John D. White ’70-Robert L. Walker ’58 Music Activities Center. He and wife Daisy created the Neva and A. E. (Buddy) White ’42 President’s Endowed Scholarship. In 2007, he was named the Texas Aggie Bar Association’s Lawyer of the Year. He is a member of the American Bar Foundation and Texas Bar Foundation, a charter member of the Houston Bar Foundation and has been board certified in civil litigation.
Dr. R. Bowen Loftin ’71 served as the 24th president of Texas A&M University from 2010 to 2014 and 22nd chancellor of the University of Missouri in 2014-15. Previously, he served as A&M’s interim president; vice president of A&M and chief executive officer of Texas A&M University at Galveston; executive director of Old Dominion University’s Virginia Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation Center; director of the University of Houston’s Virtual Environments Research Institute; and chair of the UH Department of Computer Science. His awards include the NASA Invention of the Year Award and the NASA Public Service Medal and the 1982 UH-Downtown Award for Excellence in Teaching, at that time the only teaching award given across the entire campus. He has served on numerous boards and committees including Chief Executive Officers of the Southeastern Conference, the FBI’s National Security Higher Education Advisory Board and, currently, the MRIGlobal Research Institute board of trustees.
Biographical information on all the distinguished alumni is available at tx.ag/DA2020.
