Editor’s note: This is an introduction to an excerpt of a 2009 interview conducted by David R. Johnson, professor emeritus, UTSA Department of History.
(March 1, 2019) – Herbert Kelleher, the Southwest Airlines founder who died January 3, 2019 at 87, played a key role in UTSA’s history. In 1966, he was a lawyer in John Peace’s law firm and had also worked on Gov. John Connally’s reelection campaign when he was made chair of the S.A. Chamber of Commerce’s education committee.
From this position, he helped to shape the chamber’s recommendations to the state agencies determining the future of higher education in the Alamo City and, thus, he helped to shepherd UTSA into existence. Later, he remained a loyal supporter of the university, including as a President’s Associate for nearly four decades. And his son, David N. Kelleher, is a UTSA alumnus, acquiring his B.S. in physics in 1995.
>> Read the rest of this story and relive other memories from UTSA’s history as we celebrate UTSA’s 50th Anniversary.
