Bill Patman Endowed Scholarship
William Neff (Bill) Patman, a Texas state senator for 25 years and later a United States Congressman, came to UT in 1944. He left to serve in the Marine Corp. during World War II and returned to Texas in the Fall of 1946. Between 1946 and 1953 he was an Intramural water polo champion, wrestling runner-up and three-time member of the All-Intramural Water polo team while playing for his SAE fraternity. During this time at UT he was also in the Air Force ROTC, later serving in the Air Force Reserve as a captain from 1953 to 1966. He was a diplomatic courier for the United States Foreign Service from 1949–1950. Mr. Patman was a member of the Early Birds exercise group in the 60's. The Early Birds were a group of Austin businessmen, state legislators and UT faculty who met at 6:30 a.m. in Gregory Gym for a weekly exercise program. His family would like to honor both his memory and an outstanding student employee of the Division with this endowment.
Scholarship Recipients
Funds distributed from the endowment will be used to provide scholarships to full-time undergraduate students who have reached junior or senior status with a 2.5 minimum GPA and who have been employed by Recreational Sports during one or more academic years. Awards may be made available to students in their final year prior to graduation if a less than full-time course load will enable them to complete their degree requirements. We hope to enlist the support of other donors in order to build the endowment principal. Should the gift amount reach the level required by the University to provide scholarship support to graduate students, those students may also be eligible for the award.
The 2011 recipient of the Bill Patman Endowed Scholarship, Meryl Carey, is from Glasgow, Scotland and works as a group exercise instructor. Meryl is a senior majoring in Kinesiology with the goal of obtaining a doctorate in physical therapy. She is a volunteer with the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and will be participating in the 2012 Texas 4000 for Cancer.
Previous Winners:
2010 - Zach Russell
Make a Scholarship Contribution
It is the donor's desire to increase the endowment principal in order to recognize additional student leaders. In order to achieve this goal, they hope to enlist the support of other former Recreational Sports student employees and participants.
Your tax-deductible contribution to the endowment is welcomed. Online contributions can be made through UT Online Giving. If your employer offers a charitable matching gift program, you can increase the size of your gift. Checks should be made payable to The University of Texas at Austin and mailed to:
Division of Recreational Sports
Attn: Development Coordinator
1 University Station D7500
Austin, Texas 78712-0395
Click for a Scholarship gift and pledge card to accompany your gift.
Patman Scholarship FAQ's. Click here.
