AUSTIN, Texas — The College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin has announced that Ann Sutherland Chappell has been chosen as Outstanding Alumna of the year. She will be honored at a banquet in February 1998. Chappell graduated from the University with a bachelor of arts degree in speech and a master of arts degree in communication.
This award was established in 1984 to recognize alumni of the college who have distinguished themselves in their professional and private lives. Notable alumni who have been recipients of this award include Lady Bird Johnson, George Christian, Neal Spelce, Alejandro Junco and Liz Carpenter.
“Ann Sutherland Chappell has brought distinction to our college as an outstanding civic volunteer, community leader and business entrepeneur,” said Ellen Wartella, dean of the college. Chappell is a well-known civic volunteer in Fort Worth. She is currently president of the Fort Worth chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and in 1995, coordinated the groupÌs first effort to erect a home built solely by women.
She is an active member and leader in numerous organizations, including being an elder of the First Presbyterian Church, a member of the Junior League, and a former director of the Tarrant County Housing Partnership and the Fort Worth Theatre.
“This is an enormous honor, and I am deeply humbled that I was even considered for such an award,” Chappell said. While at the University, Chappell served as a teaching assistant during her graduate studies and has worked as an instructor at Tarrant County Junior College and a research associate at the Institute of Urban Studies, at the University of Texas at Arlington. “I have always loved UT and Austin. The excellent education that I received there prepared me exceedingly well for the professional life that I have led,” said Chappell.
Chappell is currently a partner in Training Unlimited, a communication, human resources and management consulting group, that she founded in 1990 with three partners. Training Unlimited contracts with businesses and non-profit organizations to assist with team building, strategic planning, orientations and other training needs. Prior to founding Training Unlimited, Chappell gained extensive professional and volunteer experience consulting with organizations and teaching courses such as Public Speaking, Group Dynamics and Strategic Planning among many others.
Chappell has been a strong advocate for womenÌs issues and has been honored with such awards as the Outstanding Female Volunteer, by the Fort Worth Commission on the Status of Women in 1996, and the Woman of Distinction Award, by the Altrusa International Club of Fort Worth in 1993.
Chappell resides in Fort Worth with her husband David, also a UT graduate, who is a partner in the Fort Worth law firm of Chappell & McGartland. They have two children, Paige and Wade.
