The purpose of this petition is to obtain signatures from Longhorns past & present who support changing the currently unnamed Student Activity Center to the Dr. Margaret C. Berry Student Activity Center.  This is to honor and thank Dr. Margaret C. Berry for all she has meant to The University and her extended Longhorn Family over the past 8 decades.

Please see the details below to learn more. 
We would love your support & signature!

We know that bricks and mortar do not make a university great – people do. Dr. Margaret Berry is one of these individuals, and she has had an immeasurable impact on both students and alumni of The University of Texas for nearly eight decades and counting.  Dr. Berry received a bachelor’s degree in history in 1937 – the same year that construction of the UT Tower was completed. Though she never married or had children of her own, she has mentored thousands of UT students through the years as a student, faculty, administrator and friend of The University.  Some of the people she impacted were the students in her classroom, inspired by her course on student life. Others had the opportunity to work with her in her role as Associate Dean of Students, learning by unmatched example the skill of student affairs administration. Still others interacted with her in her capacity as the faculty sponsor to various student organizations, including Orange Jackets, ODK, and Mortar Board. Always energetic, always encouraging, Dr. Berry ignited the burnt orange and white embers in the hearts of student leaders which are still burning brightly for the university today.

Long considered to be the university’s unofficial historian (she wrote her doctoral thesis on “The History of The University of Texas”), Dr. Berry has authored several books about UT’s customs and traditions, including the popular U.T. Austin: Traditions and Nostalgia. Among her many awards and honors over the years are several endowed scholarships given annually in her name. She has been named a Distinguished Alumna, the highest award given by the Texas Exes, and in 2005, she was named Austin’s Most Worthy Citizen.

To this day – at age 96 – she never says no to a request to talk to groups about the university and its traditions. She remains the common thread and glue at student and alumni organization reunions, where attendees remember her good humor and ability to let her students have fun while teaching them important lessons about giving back and leading forward. Long before it was popular to say so, Dr. Berry’s career was “her calling” and not just her job. She had an open door policy both on campus and at her home, where she graciously welcomed students and hosted many late night meetings that finished with a delicious meal.

Even now, in 2011, she remains actively involved on campus and current and former students still stop by to visit her at Westminster Manor where she lives. She remains keenly interested in their lives and in the lives of their children – some of whom have also become UT students and graduates. A fourth generation Texan who has never forgotten that the Eyes of Texas are upon her, Dr. Berry stands tall as one of the best role models the university has ever had. For these reasons and many more, naming The University of Texas at Austin’s new Student Activity Center after Dr. Margaret C. Berry is an ideal way to honor this ultimate Longhorn who has for years given selflessly of her time, talents, and love to the university and its many generations of students.

Longhorns for the Margaret C. Berry Student Activities Center Tarrytown Station, P.O. Box 5039, Austin, Texas 78763-5039

Phone: (512) 358-7775 Mobile: (512) 694-6848

Email: [email protected]  

IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE:  At the end of this website petition, the creator of this website has a page asking for voluntary financial support.  If you want to sign the petition to endorse the MCB Initiative, you do NOT have to make a financial contribution to the website creator to have your petition signature recorded.  Should you desire to make a financial contribution to support the MCB Initiative, do NOT contribute funds on the page at the end of this petition.  Instead, for tracking purposes, please make a check out to: "Longhorns for MCBSAC" and mail it to: P.O. Box 5039, Austin, TX, 78763.  Funds being raised by the MCB Initiative will cover t-shirts, wristbands, and buttons for students, signage, printing costs, a video interview with Dr. Berry preserving her memories of UT over the past 80 years, and other supplies and costs of this not for profit campaign.  Thank you.