Retired Faculty & Staff Association Visits LBJ Museum of San Marcos

by Pat Murdock, RFSA Organizing Committee

    When some of the 30 members of the newly formed Texas State University Retired Faculty and Staff Association (RFSA) visited the Lyndon B. Johnson Museum of San Marcos for their second social on a recent Saturday morning, it was a time that stirred up memories.

    At least 11 of those present were working or studying at what was then Southwest Texas State College when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Higher Education Act of 1965.  One member--retired student and academic services dean and history professor Alton G. Brieger, who serves on the RFSA Organizing Committee--recalled also being among a delegation from the President's alma mater that visited President Johnson in the nation's capitol. 

    Under the leadership of retired History Professor Everette Swinney and retired Educational Administration Professor Marianne Reese, who have served as the RFSA Organizing Committee's co-chairs since it was formed over the past few months, the loose knit group of retired Texas State faculty and staff has been working to strengthen the connection among retirees.  A major accomplishment has been to provide valuable input to the university's retiree benefits policy.  A special effort is being made to collect e-mail addresses of retirees, in order to improve communication with them.
TEXAS STATE Retired Faculty and Staff Association Organizing Committee co-chair Marianne Reese (left) discusses the LBJ Museum of San Marcos with Museum Director Scott Jordan and LBJ Museum Board Member Dr. Ed Mihalkanin. RTSA members attending the social at the LBJ Museum sit among the exhibits while they hear how the museum has been developed.

    The museum outing was the retirees' organization's second official function. In April, they had brunch in the Texas State McCoy College of Business Administration's new McCoy Hall and toured the facility.

    At the LBJ Museum Saturday, they heard the museum's history and the long road to its December 2006 opening from board member Dr. Ed Mihalkanin and hopes for the future from Museum Director Scott Jordan.  Mihalkanin, one of the original board members, recalled how local volunteers worked more than nine years to bring the museum where it is today. 

    He also explained how the local museum, with its focus on the President's student days in San Marcos and the time he spent teaching in Cotulla, fills a niche not covered specifically by the other Johnson sites.

    Rebecca Prince, vice president for university advancement at Texas State and one of the moving forces behind the organization of the university's retirees, gave an overview of the university's plans for celebrating the centennial of President Johnson's birthday during the 2008-2009 school year.  "Civic Responsibility and the Legacy of LBJ" has been chosen as the topic for that school year's common experience.
Rebecca Prince (right), vice president for university advancement at Texas State, discussed the university's plans for celebrating the centennial of President Lyndon B. Johnson's birth during the 2008-2009 school year.
 Retired Art Professor Bill Kolbe (left) talks with retired graphic artist Gloria Maier, a member of the RTSA Organizing Committee, by a museum exhibit.

    Among the exhibits at the museum is an enlarged photograph of President Johnson signing the Higher Education Act of 1965 and a framed presidential pen collection donated by the late Congressman J. J. "Jake" Pickle that includes pens used by the President to sign a large number of pieces of historic legislation.

    Most of the RFSA members visiting the museum paused to sign the memorial book placed on a small desk in tribute to former first lady Lady Bird Johnson.  The book remained at the museum until August 11, 2007, one month after her death, and then was sent to the Johnson family.

    Museum hours are 1 - 5 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.  To arrange group tours for other days, call Jordan at 353-3300.
    If you know a Texas State retiree or a surviving spouse of a retiree who might be interested in our organization, please call their attention to our website at http://www.txstate.edu/rfsa/