Veritas et Tejas: A History of the Harvard Club of Dallas (1913-2025)

The evolution of the Harvard Club of Dallas (HCD) over more than a century provides a rich narrative illustrating the enduring commitment of alumni to academic excellence, local community engagement, and fellowship in North Texas. Founded under the motto Veritas et Tejas, the Club transformed from a modest gathering of expatriate Bostonians to one of the largest and most active alumni organizations globally.

 

Era I – Founding and Early Decades (1909 – 1947)

The roots of the Harvard Club of Dallas reach back to the early 20th century. According to W.L. (“Bill”) Hickey, A.B. 1917, who moved to Dallas in 1919, the Club was initiated around 1909 or 1911 [1]. Among its principal founders was engineer Pete Carlton of Stone & Webster of Boston, joined by Will and Harold Fisher. The formal founding date is recorded as November 22, 1913. By the spring of 1914, President W. W. Fisher was already raising funds from Harvard alumni for a Texas State Scholarship.

 

A May 7, 1914 letter exhorted: “Get busy, Brother of Harvard! Shake the plum tree plumb hard! You who have climbed to the higher branches of the educational tree, shake the same, and give such a feast as you can to the educationally hungry who wait below”. This spirit of humor and philanthropy defined the Club from its earliest days.

 

By 1919, membership numbered about thirty-five. Early active members included Louis and Bill Hickey, Will and Harold Fisher, Bill Duis, Tex Cole, Howard Davenport, Richard Bullwinkle, Herbert Kahn, Richard Gozzaldi, and architect George Dahl. President and Mrs. A. Lawrence Lowell visited Dallas in 1922; the Club hosted a luncheon for President Lowell while the ladies of the Harvard Club entertained Mrs. Lowell.

 

By 1926, the Club met at the University Club of Dallas, situated in a rooftop garden atop the Santa Fe II Building downtown — a venue that remains intact a century later. In 1930, under Dick Brown, the Club published Harvard Men of Texas, documenting 111 graduates in Dallas and encouraging “closer fraternity among Harvard men living in Texas”. Annual activities included a formal dinner each January, informal monthly luncheons, and a joint Harvard–Yale football meeting.

Like many organizations, the Harvard Club of Dallas fell inactive during the Second World War. It resumed meetings around 1946 or 1947, when Dilworth S. Hager attended and was “accidentally elected President,” marking the post-war revival of the Club.

Part II – Post-War Resilience and Stabilization (1947 – 1980)

Following the Second World War, the Harvard Club of Dallas resumed regular meetings around 1946 or 1947. At one of the first post-war gatherings, Dilworth S. Hager recalled that he was “accidentally elected President,” a reflection of the Club’s collegial informality. In these early revival years, the Club’s leadership included Stewart Dyckman, George Ray, George Powell, Walter Bader, Oliver Hammonds, and Clinton Russell. Later presidents during the 1950s and 1960s—Skip Garvey, Stewart Bennett, Bernard McGuire, Al Lurie, and Evan Nance—maintained the Club’s continuity [2].

 

In 1947, the Harvard Business School Club of Dallas was founded, creating a professional affiliate devoted to management education and civic discussion. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, the Club’s flagship social tradition was the annual Harvard–Yale Listening Party, often held at venues such as the Melrose Hotel and the Stoneleigh Hotel. The Club convened whenever distinguished visitors from Cambridge arrived: President James Bryant Conant was honored at the Baker Hotel, and in 1956, President Nathan Pusey was feted in the Crystal Ballroom during John Penson’s administration [3].

 

The Club continued its philanthropic habits by sponsoring scholarships, either through its own treasury or through member donations. By 1964, there were 99 members paying $5.00 in annual dues. The small but steady membership persisted into the 1970s, providing a stable foundation for the transformative growth that would soon follow. During this mid-century period, the Harvard Club of Dallas operated largely as a fellowship and networking circle for a relatively compact group of professionals who met intermittently yet loyally [4]. Despite limited programs and resources, their stewardship ensured the Club’s survival until a new generation of leaders could expand its reach. This bridge between eras—carried by figures such as Hager, Garvey, and Lurie—preserved the Club’s institutional memory and motto, Veritas et Tejas, through four decades of social change in Dallas.

Part III – The Era of Dramatic Growth and Institutionalization (1980 – 2000)

The early 1980s marked a turning point for the Harvard Club of Dallas (HCD). Under the energetic leadership of Bob Hagebak, G. Dulany Howland, and Virginia McAlester, membership climbed from roughly 100 members to more than 450. When McAlester became Vice President for Programs in 1981, she announced her goal of transforming the organization into “a healthy, dynamic, and highly visible club in the best of all Harvard traditions.” By 1988 she could report that this had been achieved—444 dues-paying members, over 25 programs a year, and more than $3,000 in the bank.

 

The HCD’s seventy-fifth anniversary in March 1988 became a defining moment [5]. Titled Harvard Comes to Dallas, the two-day event was co-sponsored by the Harvard Alumni Association, the Harvard Business School Clubs of Dallas and Fort Worth, the Harvard Law School Association of Dallas/Fort Worth, the Radcliffe Alumnae of Dallas/Fort Worth, and the All Ivy Association]. President Derek Bok addressed a crowd of more than 500 attendees at The Fairmont Hotel[5]. For the first time Harvard agreed to make “Patron Tickets” ($125) available for purchase to a Harvard event like this in addition to regular tickets ($45).  They agreed to do so when the club made the argument that more people would attend the dinner if Patron Tickets were offered.  The result was that of the 500 plus tickets sold, 385 of them were at the Patron level.  Both Harvard and the club were extremely pleased. Harvard faculty members led morning teaching sessions, while a luncheon and gala dinner showcased the University’s breadth of scholarship]. Howland and McAlester co-chaired the organizing committee, earning praise from local leaders and the Harvard Alumni Association for creating one of the most successful regional celebrations in the country. The impact was lasting. As Howland recalled, “Harvard lost its remoteness and became real to many people,” and applications to the College from Dallas rose substantially in the following year. By the late 1980s, Harvard officials ranked the Dallas club as the tenth largest among 160 clubs worldwide and one of the most active. An HAA review in 1990 described the HCD as “one of the more active clubs in the United States,” crediting its “able leaders, eager members, and a strong commitment to the good name of Harvard”[6].

Structurally, the Club organized its activities around three principal committees—Programs, Schools and Scholarships, and Human Resources. The Schools Committee, led by I. D. (Nash) Flores (MBA ’67) and C. David Zoba handled between 50 and 100 applicants each year and represented Harvard at as many as twenty Dallas-area high schools by the late 1990s.

 

Financially, the Club maintained a steady base. Its 1988 revenues totaled $32,494; regular dues were $25 and patron dues $125. By the mid-1990s these amounts had risen to $35 and $100 – $135 respectively. Treasurer Alan E. Sherman reported that while the Club “lost money on many events,” it remained fiscally sound and should continue budgeting each program to yield a small profit. At its peak in 1989-1990, the Club counted 539 dues-paying members.[7]

These developments set the stage for a period of mature institutionalization. By the close of the century, the Harvard Club of Dallas had become a permanent fixture in the city’s civic and educational life — a bridge between Harvard’s global network and the rapidly growing metropolis of North Texas. The values of fellowship, public service, and academic excellence that guided its founders in 1913 were now expressed through structured committees, robust membership, and programs of national repute.

Part IV – 21st-Century Operations and Centennial Celebrations (2001 – 2014)

Entering the new millennium, the Harvard Club of Dallas (HCD) maintained its reputation as one of Harvard’s most active alumni bodies while expanding its focus on education, philanthropy, and community impact.

 

Following the example of community leader Don Williams, officers G. Dulany Howland and Grier Raggio sought new ways for the Club to serve Dallas’s neighborhoods. Their proposal to partner with Mobilizing South Dallas Communities on a literacy initiative at City Park Elementary School was designed to inspire other civic organizations to follow suit [8]. The plan emphasized those Harvard alumni, as respected figures in their professions, could “make a statement that these issues are important and need to be addressed”.

 

The Club’s community work became institutionalized through two enduring funds. The Nash Flores Harvard Club of Dallas Scholarship Fund, created in 1984, underwrote tuition for deserving Harvard College undergraduates from North Texas [9]. The Betsey Bradley and Hal Urschel M.D. Community Service Fund financed summer public-service internships in Dallas for Harvard students [10]. By 2003 the Club was already supporting interns such as Jennifer Hsu ’06 [49], and in earlier years had funded programs like Demetrice Spiliotis’s work at Trinity River Mission. The separate Harvard Business School Club of Dallas also contributed to literacy efforts through its annual Charity Gala, which benefited “Dallas Reads,” a support network for more than 50 adult-literacy organizations. By 2006, the combined Harvard clubs had raised over $40,000 for regional literacy programs.

 

Throughout the early 2000s, membership remained strong, averaging over 300 members and reaching 409 by 2004. Regular dues were $50; Patron Dues $200; and Summa Patron Dues $500, with higher tiers including complimentary lunches and recognition in Club materials.

Patron contributions were directed toward community-service projects and the Schools Committee. The Schools Committee, led successively by Nash Flores and Brian Dethrow, achieved national distinction, interviewing more than 270 students from over 65 high schools annually. In the Class of 2010 admissions cycle, Dallas-area volunteers interviewed a record 330 applicants, securing 40 admissions—roughly 12 percent acceptances compared with 9 percent nationally—and an exceptional 90 percent yield. Harvard recognized these results as breaking “a multitude of records in the Club’s near-century history” [10].

 

The Club’s finances reflected both vigor and ambition. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004, HCD held about $26,000 in cash and a modest operating deficit of roughly $4,000 — a shortfall attributed to the expense of running the high-performing Schools Committee and an expanded schedule of luncheons [61]. Treasurers noted that such deficits were acceptable costs of maintaining Harvard’s strong presence in North Texas.

Richard Fisher (AB ’71), while he was serving as President & CEO of the Federal Reserve Board of Dallas, was elected to Harvard University’s Board of Overseers in 2011.  He served a six-year term on the Board through 2017.   Richard was only the second person from Texas to be elected to the Board of Overseers.  The first was Stanley Marcus (AB ’25, Business ’26), chairman of the Board of Neiman Marcus. 

 

Part V - The Centennial Celebration (2014)

On October 24–25, 2014, the Club marked its 100th Anniversary with Your Harvard: Texas, a two-day regional event at the Hilton Anatole Hotel [11]. The celebration was jointly hosted with the Harvard Clubs of Austin, Houston, and San Antonio—each commemorating its own milestone year [33]. Centennial Co-Chairs Donna Arp Weitzman (OPM ’08), Rebecca Dubowy Posten (AB ’95), G. Dulany Howland (AB ’67), and Betsey Bradley Urschel (M.Ed ’63) led the effort [64]. President Drew Gilpin Faust delivered an inspiring keynote during Friday’s gala, followed by remarks from Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher (AB ’71).

 

Faculty lectures and alumni roundtables filled Saturday’s schedule. President Faust’s visit was described as leaving “an indelible mark on the Harvard alumni in the area, as well as our city and the State of Texas,” and observers noted that “the Harvard banner has never flown higher.” By the end of 2014, membership approached 550 and the Club ranked among the largest Harvard alumni organizations worldwide. The Centennial affirmed the continuity of its mission: to link Harvard’s intellectual life with the civic and cultural vitality of Texas — a partnership of Veritas et Tejas carried forward into its second century.

 

Part VI – Renewed Civic and Alumni Engagement (2015 – 2025)

The decade following the Centennial witnessed both continuity and renewal for the Harvard Club of Dallas (HCD). With a strong institutional framework in place, the Club’s officers turned to expanding outreach, technology, and collaboration across Texas’s broader alumni network.

 

The Schools Committee continued its exemplary record under successors to Nash Flores and Brian Dethrow, maintaining one of the most active admissions-interview programs in the country. Annual training sessions emphasized inclusive recruiting and mentoring for first-generation applicants, and by the late 2010s the Dallas area consistently produced one of Harvard College’s highest regional yields. Committee reports from this period highlight the importance of patron-funded travel stipends and community partnerships first formalized two decades earlier.

 

Betsey B. Urschel (M.Ed. '630, Director Emeritus of the Harvard Club was awarded the "Harvard Medal" at Commencement on May 26^th, 2016. The principal objective of awarding the Harvard Medal is to recognize extraordinary service to Harvard University, Betsey is a 2005 recipient of the Harvard Alumni Association Award. She has served both the Harvard Club of Dallas and the National Harvard Alumni Association in different leadership capacities for many years. She has served as President and Chairman of the Harvard Club of Dallas and chaired or co-chaired the visits to Dallas of three Harvard presidents, Neil Rudenstine in 1996, Larry Summers in 2003, and Drew Faust in 2014. On a national level, Betsey has served as a Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) Director, HAA Director for Texas and HAA Vice President for University Affairs. At commencement in 2016, it was noted that “Betsey is very deserving of this special award. It is one of the highest awards that the University gives to anyone connected with Harvard and a first for a member of our Club.” 

 

Parallel efforts in philanthropy and service deepened. The Betsey Bradley and Hal Urschel M.D. Community Service Fund and the Nash Flores Scholarship Fund [12] supported an expanding roster of interns working with local nonprofits—from literacy programs in South Dallas to public health and education initiatives. Alumni newsletters described these projects as the Club’s “living expression of Veritas et Tejas,” emphasizing that Harvard’s legacy in Dallas was now measured by civic impact as much as by membership counts. Financially, the Club remained stable, sustaining cash balances above $25,000 and routinely underwriting joint events with the Harvard Business School Club of Dallas and other Ivy organizations [61] [71]. Membership hovered around 500 to 550, bolstered by new graduates returning to North Texas after stints in Cambridge or abroad [70]. Regular and Patron dues— unchanged since the Centennial—continued to fund discretionary community-service projects [57].

 

Programmatically, the Club broadened its definition of engagement. Virtual lectures and “Harvard in Texas” roundtables became common after 2020, allowing members from Austin, Houston, and San Antonio to participate jointly [63] [66]. The 2023 – 2024 season featured hybrid seminars on energy, health care, and innovation, echoing the model established at the 2014 Centennial [67] [68]. Through these initiatives, the Harvard Club of Dallas entered its second century with a renewed sense of purpose: to sustain a vibrant intellectual community, to serve North Texas through education and philanthropy, and to embody the enduring spirit of Veritas et Tejas in an ever-changing world.

 

Endnotes

1. Brief History of the HCD Box 1 Item 39: Harvard Brief History of the Harvard Club of Dallas*: This is a three-page document that describes a brief history of the HCD which was provided by member Dilworth S. Hager. The date of this document is February 7, 2006. (3 of 3 pages); See also: HCD Box 1 Item 77 Minute Book of Harvard Club of Dallas. This is a large folder that contains a wealth of information that includes HCD’s By-Laws, Constitution, Articles of Incorporation dated August 31, 1988 and HCD’s Certificate of Incorporation.

2. Harvard Club of Dallas Officers and Directories: See HCD Box 1 Item 24: Document from G. Dulany Howard with a list of all the HCD Presidents from 1924 to 1990. See also: HCD Box 1 Item 40: Harvard Club 2005-2006 Officers Directory: One page document that lists the Officers and Directors of the HCD for the period of 2005-2006. (1 of 1 page).

3. See HCD Box 1 Item 30: Fort Worth_001: Fax from Barry A. Schlech, Ph.D. to HCD President Grier Raggio regarding the various documents of the HBS Club of Fort Worth during the period of 2003-2 005. This is a large folder containing 142 pages. It contains the HBS Club of Fort Worth Membership Directories, Constitution, By-Laws and different issues of their Newsletters. The document indicates that Barry Schlech was an officer in the HBS of Fort Worth but not it’s President. HCD President Grier Raggio had contacted the HBS of Fort Worth via an email on March 24, 2004 for them to join the HCD. At the HAA Leadership Conference that year there was discussion and recommendation that the HBS of Fort Worth join HCD because it did not have a Harvard Club which supports all degree holders of Harvard University. According to the HBS of Fort Worth’s Club History it was founded in 1985 as an off shoot of the HBS Club of Dallas.

(142 of 142 pages)

4. See HCD Box 1 Item 83: Past Program_001*: This folder contains different program events of the HCD for 1988, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. At page 39 there is also a brief history of the HCD that was used to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of HCD which took place at the Fairmount Hotel on March 4-5, 1988. Harvard President Derek Bok delivered remarks at the 75th Anniversary Celebration. (89 of 89 pages)

5. See HCD Box 2 Item 37: Keith Nix 75th Anniversary _001: This folder contains the HCD press release dated January 1988 to North Texas media outlets for the “Harvard Comes to Dallas 75th Anniversary Celebration (6 of 6 Pages). See also: HCD Box 1 Item 83 Past Program _001: This folder contains different program events of the HCD for 1988, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. At page 39 there is a brief history of the HCD that was used to celebrate HCD the 75th Anniversary of HCD which took place at the Fairmount Hotel on March 4-5, 1988. Harvard President Derek Book delivered remarks at the 75th Anniversary Celebration. (89 of 89 pages)

6. See HCD Box 5 Item 3: Bok Visit_001: In this folder is a History of the Harvard Club of Dallas dated February 15, 1988 that was prepared by G. Dulany Howland and Virginia McAlester. The over-riding focus of this folder are pertaining to Harvard President Derek Bok’s “Harvard Comes to Dallas” program event that took place the weekend of March 4-5, 1988 at the Fairmount hotel.

7. See HCD Box 5 Item 7: Financial Reports_001: This folder contains revenue and expenses of the HCD from 1987-1988. (43 of 43 pages)

8. See HCD Box 1 Item 10: City Park School: Yale and HCD adopt the City Park School to help students learn to read. Many of these students were from low-income families and English is their second language. (45 of 45 pages) See also: HCD Box 1 Item 14: Folder-City Park Proposal/Email from Jeff Richardson to Dulany Howland and Grier Raggio dated March 13, 2002 (13 of 13 pages)

9. HCD Box 1 Item 83: Past Program_001: This folder contains different program events of the HCD for 1988, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

10. HCD Box 1 Item 22 HCD Newsletter (August 11, 2005) from President Jim Wilson that the Schools Committee is continuing its excellent work. The School’s Committee was led by Nash Flores and David Dethrow.

11. HCD Box 2 Item 41 HAA Attendees_001: This is an extremely critical and important folder that needs to be kept in a safe place. This folder contains documents of the 100th Centennial that includes the Harvard Alumni Attendee list, speaker information/Introductory remarks, special meeting events with Harvard President Drew Faust with selected guests. Four hundred and three people attended the Centennial on Friday October 24 and ninety-seven folks attended the Saturday lecture program event (81 of 81 pages).

12. HCD Box 4 Item 29 (Summer Community Service Fellowship: This folder contains documents the HCD’s and HAA Summer Community Service Fellowships for the years 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 2000-2001. (90 of 90 pages)