The Tradition of the Austin College Alumni Association
By Clint Buck ’07
“Austin College has, without doubt, as loyal a group of men in her Alumni Association as any other college in the state. They are active in all the interests of the college, and have ever proved true to their Alma Mater. At no time have they ever been called upon for anything that did not meet with hearty response.” –The Chromascope, Volume 20, 1920.
he 1890s were a time of significant change and development for Austin College. The school was attracting a professional faculty focused on the liberal arts, the YMCA and literary societies had become active, and the first local fraternities and intercollegiate sports teams were formed.2 With these changes came an increase in students’ pride in and allegiance to the school,3
likely contributing to the formation of the Austin College Alumni Association.
By 1910, the Alumni Association was “becoming a powerful factor in the life of the college.”4 Prior to that, in 1899, the Association’s President, George C.F. Butte, helped fund the publication of the first volume of The Chromascope by soliciting $100 from the Board of Trustees.5 Later, in 1920, the Association helped secure 16 acres of land next to the College as an athletic park.6
Since those beginning times, the Alumni Association and its board have sought to enhance the lives of Austin College alumni and students and help support Austin College as an institution. Every student who graduates from Austin College or attends at least one year before leaving in good standing is a member of the Alumni Association, which now exists to promote the interests of the alumni, the College, and its current students.
Recognizing the school’s alumni as associated in a collective helps remind us that engrained in Austin College’s nature is a commitment to each other. In 1852, the Austin College Catalogue described the College as “a temple of learning” where its students would serve their “fellow man.”7 Today, our service to each other is still, perhaps, the most fundamental aspect of being a ’Roo. More than 120 years after its formation, we members of the Alumni Association continue to find ways to connect with each other and the school, support our fellow alumni, and ensure that Austin College will continue to be a place that allows its students to flourish. In doing so, we have ably continued the long-standing tradition of our alma mater and its Alumni Association.
Clint Buck ’07 is a lawyer, musician, and President of the Alumni Board, the governing body of the Alumni Association. He and his wife, Macie, live happily in San Antonio, Texas, with their son, Adler, and pets, Cotton and Charlotte.
1The Chromascope, Volume 20, 1920
2Cummins, Light Townsend. Austin College: A Sesquicentennial History, 1849-1999
3Cummins, Light Townsend. Austin College: A Sesquicentennial History, 1849-1999
4The Chromascope, Volume 11, 1910
5The Chromascope, Volume 1, 1899
6The Chromascope, Volume 24, 1924
7The Chromascope, Volume 45, 1945