The ICUT Founders Award is the highest honor the independent sector of higher education bestows, and the award is not given every year but only when merited.
"This is a fitting honor for a man who has dedicated so much of his life to the betterment of higher education," said Dr. Royce Money, ACU president. "During the 10-year period that Bob served as ICUT's chief executive officer, the Tuition Equalization Grant Program (TEG) survived many challenges and legislative threats due in no small part to Bob's tireless preparation and organization,. When Bob left ICUT, not only had TEG survived and been strengthened, legislators had appropriated over $97 million for the program. The cumulative amount appropriated for TEG since 1971 now stands at nearly $1.4 billion."
To be eligible for the Founder's Award, a candidate must have made significant contributions to the advancement of independent higher education in Texas over a significant period of time, played an important role in enabling independent institutions to compete effectively with state-supported institutions and raised the visibility of independent institutions among opinion leaders in the state or nation.
"For the 20 years Bob served in the Legislature, from 1986 to 2006, the combination of Bob and ICUT's legislative team was almost unstoppable," said Money. "Bob's support and his legislative help were so important to ICUT that, in 1998, ICUT named him ICUT President Emeritus."
Past recipients of the ICUT Founders Award have included Mr. Will Davis, regent of Baylor University, Mr. Bob Wright, trustee of both Austin College and Texas Christian University, and Mr. Robert Priddy, a well-known philanthropist.
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