CPT Robert L. Acklen, Jr. ’63
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Year Awarded: 2010

Acklen received a Bachelor of Arts in history from the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas in 1967. During his time at Texas A&M, he was named a distinguished military student and was a member of the Corps of Cadets, A&M wrestling team, Russian Club, American Engineering History Society and the Dallas Hometown Club.



After graduation in 1967, Acklen joined the Army and served in Vietnam, suffering a broken back in a helicopter accident. Told he would never walk again, Acklen went on to recover and complete a business degree at the University of Texas. He then returned to active duty, earning a Ranger tab and completing paratrooper training before being assigned to a one-year tour in Korea.



In 1978, Acklen was medically retired at the rank of captain, for physical disability resulting from the injuries he received in Vietnam. In 1989 he earned a computer science degree at the University of North Texas and went on to teach computer science at that university and wrote software programs for private companies and service organizations.



Acklen has been honored for his exceptional service and heroic actions with more than 60 military decorations, including a Silver Star, a Distinguished Flying Cross, six Bronze Stars, 40 Air Medals, four Army Commendation Medals, and a Purple Heart. In 2000, he was inducted into Texas A&M’s Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor. He was active in many veterans, historical, church and civic organizations, including the prestigious Society of the Cincinnati.

"The relationships he built at Texas A&M were lifelong friendships. These men encouraged his Aggie Spirit that Bob held dear during the Vietnam War, throughout the years of recuperation with a broken back, during the grueling Ranger School training to become an honor graduate, and finally, holding the Aggie Spirit through the rest of his life, giving of himself to help others."

  - Carolyn Acklen Bender, sister of Bob Acklen '63

Donald A. Adam ’57
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Year Awarded: 2012

Bryan, TX

Donald A. Adam, Class of 1957, graduated from the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas with a bachelor of business administration degree in insurance. While a student, he was a major in “A” Composite, 4th Battalion, Regimental Staff in the Corps of Cadets, as well as a member of the Business and Marketing Societies.



After graduating, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and discharged as a captain in the U.S. Army in 1961. The same year he returned to Bryan and became president, owner and director of CRA Company in Bryan. In 1969, he founded The Adam Corporation/Group and became Chairman and CEO of Community Cablevision Corporation, also in Bryan. He then formed and became Chairman and CEO of American Cablevision Corporation in 1971, which served 11 states. During the 1970s and 1980s, Adam founded and became active in several different companies. A few of his other endeavors include Adam Development Properties, a company that provides residential and commercial real estate development; Madison Construction, which provides mainly commercial construction services; Courtlandt Farm, one of Adam’s most enjoyable projects, which is a thoroughbred horse breeding and racing operation based in Ocala, Fl.; and a whitetail deer breeding program and hunting lodge in South Texas. In 1988, Adam formed First American Bank, which he owned until 2005 when he sold it to Citigroup, Inc. In addition, he facilitates aircraft charter operations through Adam Aviation Ltd., L.L.P., owns Reliable Reports, an insurance inspection company, and owns and operates Miramont Country Club, a private golf course and country club community he built in Bryan in 2005. In 2006, Adam returned to banking. He formed American Momentum Bank, which is headquartered in Tampa, Fla., and has a branch in College Station. Also in Tampa, he founded the Donald A. Adam Melanoma Research Center at the Moffitt Cancer Center.



Adam is an active contributor to organizations throughout the Bryan-College Station community. He has given time and financial support to Habitat for Humanity of Brazos Valley, American Heart Association of the Brazos Valley, Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial, Allen Academy, the Arts Council of the Brazos Valley, Boys and Girls Club of the Brazos Valley, Bryan I.S.D. Foundation, March of Dimes of the Brazos Valley, St. Joseph Hospital Foundation, Health For All Clinic and more.



Adam was a charter member of the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation, the President’s Council of Advisors and the Chancellor’s 21st Century Council of Advisors. He is a member of The Association of Former Students’ Century Club, the College of Medicine Advisory Council, Texas A&M Vision 2020 Committee, the Texas A&M Foundation and the 12th Man Foundation. He also contributes to the Opera and Performing Arts Society (OPAS) in Bryan, where he served as development chair. Adam is founder and director of The Donald A. Adam Family Foundation, and a member of First United Methodist Church in Bryan.



Adam resides in Bryan with his wife, Donna. Both of his children graduated from Texas A&M.

"Enjoy and participate in every aspect of your college life and seek to identify professor or administrative leaders and study them in-depth and identify those that are truly outstanding in order to mentor yourself. Exercise extraordinary levels of discipline in all facets of your college career as you will be far better to meet the challenges that will lie ahead."

Col. Edward Vergne Adams ’29
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Year Awarded: 2015

Col. Edward Vergne Adams, Class of 1929, received a bachelor’s degree in English from the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, where he played in the Aggie Band and later returned for a master’s degree. He studied music at the Cincinnati Conservatory and other institutions and was a high school teacher and band director before serving as a U.S. Army chemical warfare officer during World War II. He organized the first bands at Humble, Nederland and Bryan high schools. He also directed bands at Donna and Palestine.



He is recognized by the Texas Bandmasters Association as having had a major impact on the early development of bands in East Texas and is in the Phi Beta Mu band director Hall of Fame. He served as director of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band longer than any other individual for 27 years from 1946 to 1973, pioneering maneuvers other band directors called “impossible.” He is credited with inventing the two-way crisscross at close interval and the minstrel turn (co-invented with Roy Ben Wallace at Palestine).



He grounded thousands of young bandsmen in discipline and dedication and is remembered for his kindness and understanding as well as his precision; he, insisted on a strict military cadence of 120 beats per minute and specified 30 inch strides. He gave the Aggie Band its style and its look such as filling the bugle rank with seniors for an unbroken line of boots and its standard of perfection shown in televised performances that spread its fame nationwide.



His entry in the Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor notes, “Colonel Adams retired in 1973 with 209 consecutive halftime victories.” The band hall was renamed for him. Adams passed away in 1982.



He and wife Ida Belle Higgs Adams had a son, Edward V. Adams Jr. ’61; their grandson is E.V. “Rusty” Adams III ’96.

"E.V. Adams was more than a band director. He was a leader, a role model, and a mentor to generations of Aggies, whose impact extended well beyond our lat Final Review."

  - Excerpt from letter from Class of '66 Aggie Bandsmen

Harold L. Adams ’61
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Year Awarded: 2011

Baltimore, MD

Adams earned his bachelor’s degree in architectural design from the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. As a student, he received the Alpha Rho Chi Medal for Outstanding Service to the School of Architecture and was active with the Student Conference on National Affairs.



After graduation from A&M, he worked for several architectural firms before joining RTKL Associates in Baltimore in 1967. He became president in 1968, CEO in 1971, and chairman of the board in 1987. He was one of the first Americans to hold a “first class Kenchikushi” (architecture) license, awarded by Japan’s Ministry of Construction, and he is a licensed architect in the United Kingdom. He served as chancellor of the AIA College of Fellows from 1997 to 1998, and founded and chaired for 17 years the AIA’s Large Firm Round Table. He worked with President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy on the design of Lafayette Square, across the street from the White House, helped select the site for Kennedy’s presidential library and was project director for the Kennedy gravesite memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and received its Kemper Medal in 1997.



He is a member of The Association of Former Students Century Club and on the Dean’s Advisory Council of the College of Architecture. He has endowed three professorships and a scholarship at A&M and was the College of Architecture’s chairman for the One Spirit One Vision capital campaign. He also lectures at A&M each year. He was selected as an Outstanding Alumnus of the College of Architecture in 1998.



Mr. Adams is active in business, arts, education and civic organizations as chairman of the Board of Regents of the American Architectural Foundation, chairman and trustee of the National Building Museum and chairman of the Governor’s International Advisory Council. He has served as chairman of the board of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, chairman of the Design-Build Institute of America, and commissioner of the Maryland Economic Development Commission. He founded and has served for 20 years as chairman of the board of the World Trade Center Institute.



Adams and his wife, Janice, have four children, two of whom attended A&M, and 11 grandchildren.

“What I gained from Texas A&M that has been beneficial to me in my career and life is the positive thinking and the ‘we can conquer anything attitude.”

Jim R. Adams ’61
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Year Awarded: 1999

San Antonio, TX

Adams received a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics/Physics in 1961. After graduation from A&M he served as an officer in the US Army on active duty until 1963 with the US Army Signal Corp. He later received a Master’s and Doctorate degree in Statistics and Business Finance from the University of Texas. In 1992, he was named Group President of SBC Communications, Inc. and also served as Chairman of the Board of Texas Instruments, Inc. from 1996-1998.



In addition to his career involvement, he was co-founder of the Dallas Partnership, the economic development arm of the Dallas Chamber of Commerce and also chaired the Economic Development Task Force to develop legislative plans for the Governor’s Office. Adams and his wife, Judy, have three children, Dana, Leslie, and Jim.

"Jim Adams is truly a son of A&M. Coupled with his achievements in his chosen profession; Jim has always been a person who gave back to the community more than he received."

  - Henry Gilchrist '46

Neal W. Adams ’68
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Year Awarded: 2008

Euless, TX

Adams received his Bachelor of Business Administration in marketing. As a student, he was a member of the Corps of Cadets, the Student Senate, served as head yell leader, and was honored as a Distinguished Military Graduate and Distinguished Student. Upon graduation, Adams attended Baylor School of Law, receiving his juris doctorate in 1970.



He served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army from 1971 to 1972. He began his professional career in 1972 as president of Neal W. Adams, P.C. Since 1987, he served as president, principal attorney and co-owner of Adams, Lynch & Loftin, P.C.



In 2001, Governor Rick Perry appointed Adams to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, where he served six years and, in July 2005, Governor Perry appointed him as vice chairman of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, a position he held through August 2007.



In October 2002 and 2007, Texas Lawyer magazine named Adams as the “Go-To Lawyer” for school law in the state of Texas. Each year beginning in 2003 through 2007, Adams has been honored as one of the Texas Super Lawyers in school and education law by Texas Monthly magazine. He is a past chairman of the State Bar of Texas School Law Section. A Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International, Adams was named 1994 'Man of the Year’ by the Northeast Tarrant County Board of Realtors.



Adams is a loyal supporter of Texas A&M. He is a member and chair-elect of the Chancellor’s Century Council, a member of The Association of Former Students’ Leadership Council, the A&M Legacy Society, the Corps Development Council and the Corps of Cadets Association. Adams also serves as a member and past chair of the President’s Board of Visitors for the Corps of Cadets, a member of the 12th Man Foundation’s Board of Trustees, and a member and past president of the Former Yell Leaders Association. He is a regular Muster speaker and a life member of the Fort Worth-Tarrant County A&M Club. In addition, he is a frequent contributor of his time and talents to various civic, church and community organizations.



Adams and his wife, Sonja, have two daughters, Marti Morgan, Class of 1993, and Paige.

"Through a series of actions, I have been particularly impressed with Neal’s ability to work with cadets and other students. It is clear that he identifies and communicates effectively with them and is a remarkable mentor. Students could not have a better role model as they consider their own service to the University and to our society."

  - LTG John A. Van Alstyne '66

Phil Adams ’70
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Year Awarded: 2019

Bryan, TX

Phil Adams ’70 is serving his third six-year term as a regent of The Texas A&M University System and previously served as vice chairman of the Board of Regents from 2011 to 2013 and chairman from 2013 to 2015. First appointed by Governor Rick Perry ’72 in 2001 and again in 2009, he was reappointed to the board by Governor Greg Abbott in 2015. He has chaired the Audit, Finance and Buildings and Physical Plant committees of the Board.

Adams earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Texas A&M in 1971 and was a member of the football team, coached by Gene Stallings ’57.

After graduation, he launched a career in insurance and is the founder and president of Phil Adams Company, which provides insurance products and services throughout Texas. He has attained membership in the Million Dollar Round Table, Top of the Table and the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting.

Adams serves on the board of directors of American Momentum Bank, with banking operations in Texas and Florida, and has served on the boards of many civic organizations, including the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce. He is a past president of the Brazos Valley Estate Council and past chairman of the Brazos County Republican Party.

With many years of service to Texas A&M and The Texas A&M University System, Adams is an active member of the Chancellor’s Century Council and the Mays Business School Development Council and recently completed a three-year term on the board of UTIMCO, The University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Management Company. He is a member of The Association of Former Students’ Century Club, with 41 years of giving, and supported the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center building enhancement campaign. His generosity is recognized on the Loyalty core value wall at the Williams Alumni Center which reads: “It was here that our lives were forever changed, and loyalty to one another and to a cause greater than self-filled our hearts.”

Adams’ Aggie family includes his father, the late Lester D. Adams ’53, and nephews, Jared Kennedy ’02 and Joerdan Ken¬nedy ’07.

“It was here that our lives were forever changed, and loyalty to one another and to a cause greater than self-filled our hearts.”

  - Phil Adams '70

Khalid A. Al-Falih ’82
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Year Awarded: 2013

Dhaharan, Saudi Arabia

Khalid A. Al-Falih, Class of 1982, graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and went on to King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals to earn an MBA in 1991.



Al-Falih’s time at Texas A&M was sponsored by Saudi Aramco — Saudi Arabia’s state oil company — which he joined in 1979. After graduation from Texas A&M, Al-Falih returned to the Kingdom, working his way up from senior project engineer to manager of business analysis by 1998. In 1999, he became president of Petron Corporation, a joint venture of Saudi Aramco and the Philippine National Oil Company, and then leader of Saudi Negotiations Team for the Kingdom’s Natural Gas Initiative in 2000. He then transitioned from vice president to senior vice president and then executive vice president, overseeing various functions within Saudi Aramco from 2001 to 2008. In 2009, Al-Falih stepped into his current role as president and CEO for Saudi Aramco — the world’s largest petroleum company — where he also sits on the Board of Directors.



Al-Falih has remained committed to quality education and professional development. In 2009, he led Saudi Aramco’s successful effort to establish the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology — North of Jiddah, on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Coast. Al-Falih is currently leading efforts to create the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture — in Dhahran, near Saudi Arabia’s Arabian Gulf Coast.



Al-Falih is an advocate of creating a diverse economy fed by new businesses and the stimulation of job creation in the Kingdom. Under his leadership, Saudi Aramco has embarked on several mega projects including the development of Sadara Chemical Company, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical. Upon completion, Sadara will represent the largest petrochemical facility ever built in a single phase.



Al-Falih is the first Distinguished Alumnus to have graduated from Texas A&M in the 1980s, and he is the third former student to earn both the distinction of Distinguished Alumnus and also Outstanding International Alumnus, a title he received in 2010.



Al-Falih lives in Saudi Arabia with his wife and five children.

"The worldwide network of Texas A&M is a fellowship distinguished not just by the quality of its education, but by a lasting sense of identity and purpose."

Mark W. Albers ’79
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Year Awarded: 2022

The Woodlands, TX

Mark W. Albers ’79 believes, “We are all put here for a purpose, and that purpose is not ‘all about us.’” Rather, he says, our purpose “is found in the One who put us here in the first place.”

From the beginning, Albers knew he wanted a career in oil. He studied petroleum engineering at A&M, participating in Student Engineers’ Council, Engineering Honor Society, Campus Crusade for Christ and even walking onto the football team. After graduating summa cum laude, Albers soon found a job with Exxon. It was the perfect fit. Albers remained at ExxonMobil for over 38 years, eventually working his way up to corporate senior vice president over the upstream at the company’s headquarters in Irving, Texas. Albers’ career took him from Australia to Africa, bringing on new supplies of energy.

While excelling in industry, Albers also found the time to stay involved in his local community. Albers is an area advisor to Men’s Bible Study Fellowship over Houston and East Texas, providing leadership for about 2,500 participants. He has served on the boards of the MD Anderson Cancer Center, CEO Forum and the Grace School of Theology.

Service to Texas A&M has remained a priority to Albers. Albers served on the boards of The Association of Former Students, the A&M System’s University Lands Board, and the Engineering Advisory Board. Albers and his wife, Cindy, are Endowed Century Club members. They have funded an endowed scholarship, an endowed faculty fellowship, and classroom improvements in the new Zachry engineering complex.

Three of Mark and Cindy’s four children attended A&M with their spouses: Byron ’06 (Sharla ’06), Amanda ’11 (Scott ’11), and Amy ’15 (Tony ’11). Their son David (Marin) graduated from Rice University. They have 12 grandchildren.

“Mark is a steady influence with the rare gift of raising the level of accomplishment of all those with whom he works.”

  - George N. Harris, Jr. '85

Ford D. Albritton, Jr. ’43
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Year Awarded: 1977

Houston, TX

Albritton received a bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1943. Albritton is the only person in history to have been President of The Association of Former Students and then President of the Texas A&M Research Foundation while serving a term on The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. He was a 1st Lieutenant and Artillery Pilot in the U.S. Army during World War II and received a Purple Heart.



Albritton founded Albritton Engineering Corporation (ALENCO), an aluminum products manufacturing firm, in Houston in 1948 then moved to Bryan, Texas where he was the Chairman of the Board of First Bank & Trust of Bryan, and member of the Board of Directors of the General Telephone Company of the Southwest. He served as president of the Bryan/College Station Chamber of Commerce, and twice president of the Greater Bryan United Fund. He and his wife, Martha, have four children, Ford, III ’69, Robert ’71, Sally, and John.

"Texas A&M University has made unparalleled progress in establishing itself as a center of academic excellence. To recognize this preeminent accomplishment, and to satisfy what has been a dream of mine for many years, I wish to contribute to the present and the future growth of Texas A&M University by constructing a tower housing a carillon of the highest order. This carillon will add an important dimension of dignity and integrity to Texas A&M University while serving as a constant reminder that the university is continuing to strive for an ever-increasing degree of academic excellence."