Lockstep in Gratitude
Alumni Give Back to Support Students
Alumni John and Judye Hartman support student scholarships through their wills.
After The University of Texas at Austin won the 1963 national football title, John Hartman called fellow student assembly member Judye Galeener and asked her on a date. It’s hard to begin a burnt-orange love story in a better way.
The two have been in lockstep for 56 years enjoying family and careers, traveling with the Flying Longhorns and giving back to the university they love.
John earned his degree in chemical engineering and counts his professors among the best. “Professor John McKetta, later a dean, was wonderful and generous with his resources, time and temperament,” he said. “He even called students on their birthdays. I’m grateful to my professors for giving me such a solid foundation.”
Judye earned a mathematics degree. When the couple moved to Houston, she landed a programming job with IBM at NASA. She shared, “This was when we put a man on the moon, so it was exciting!” Judye also ran a tutoring business and has served on the College of Liberal Arts Advisery Council for many years.
Looking Out for Future Generations
John worked for ExxonMobil and later owned a manufacturing business. Today he is passionate about climate science and started a company to help churches finance rooftop solar systems. It’s another example — like the endowed scholarships that the couple created for the Cockrell School of Engineering and the College of Liberal Arts — of looking out for future generations.
To further support student scholarships, John and Judye established gifts to UT in their wills. “It makes us feel good to know that when we’re not here anymore, the place we love will be here for somebody else,” Judye said.
“We look forward to our gifts helping a number of students who would otherwise struggle to find a way to pay for college,” John said. “We do it because we’re grateful.”
Through the Texas Challenge, the Hartmans doubled the impact of a student scholarship.
Make an Impact at Texas Engineering
Scholarship support is just the beginning. To learn more about scholarships and other ways you can give back to the Cockrell School of Engineering, contact the Gift and Estate Planning Team for no-obligation help at 512-475-9632 or giftplan@austin.utexas.edu.