AUSTIN, Texas– University of Texas System Board of Regents took action Thursday (Aug. 14) to name two facilities in honor of individuals who have made significant gifts to the Longhorn Legacy, a $30 million campaign for UT Austin athletics.
The Longhorn Dining Hall in Beauford H. Jester Center-East will now be called the B.M. "Mack" Rankin, Jr. Longhorn Dining Hall in recognition of Rankin, a Dallas businessman and UT Austin graduate. Rankin has supported several programs at the University, most recently donating $1 million to athletics.
Regents also voted to name the Centennial Room on the ninth floor of Bellmont Hall the Carpenter-Winkel Centennial Room in recognition of Mrs. Carol Carpenter Winkel's many gifts to the University, including a recent $1.2 million pledge to the Longhorn Legacy. Winkel, who is a graduate of UT Austin, lives in Midland, where she is president of Winkel Enterprises.
Longhorn Legacy's purpose is to increase endowed funds for UT athletics and to renovate and expand the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and other University sports facilities. A significant feature of the campaign is the inclusion of individual naming opportunities as appropriate donor recognition.
Rankin, a founder and current director of Freeport-McMoRan Inc., was graduated from UT Austin with a business degree in 1950. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the business school in 1981, and is a member of the University's Littlefield Society, Chancellor's Council, Longhorn Foundation Advisory Council for Men's Athletics (chairman) and the 200 Horns Club. He also is chairman of the Longhorn Legacy's executive committee. Rankin endowed the B.M. "Mack" Rankin, Jr. Scholarship in Athletics and the B.M. "Mack" Rankin, Jr. Professorship in Petroleum Land Management, among other gifts.
Winkel and her husband, James Winkel, were graduated from the University in 1971. After his death in 1990, she established endowed scholarships in his name in the UT Austin College of Business Administration and the Ex-Students' Association, as well as at UT Permian Basin. Winkel grew up in Austin and her father, Frank Herman Carpenter Jr., was a state legislator and a 1932 graduate of the UT School of Law. She also is a member of the Longhorn Foundation Advisory Council for Men's Athletics, the Littlefield Society and Chancellor's Council.
In other action, regents approved a recommendation to name the football playing field at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium at UT Austin the Joe Jamail Field in honor of the Houston attorney. They also changed the name of the V.F. "Doc" Neuhaus-Darrell K Royal Athletic Center to the W.A. "Tex", Moncrief, Jr.-V.F. "Doc" Neuhaus Athletic Center to recognize Moncrief, a Fort Worth businessman. Regents believe the name change is appropriate in view of the recent designation of the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
