UT Dallas Remembers Transformational Leader Dr. Hobson Wildenthal

Nearly 30 years ago, Dr. Hobson Wildenthal stepped onto the UT Dallas campus as the chief academic officer. His influence over the years would affect every aspect of the institution from the sciences to the arts, from business affairs to campus architecture and landscaping, to the recruitment of high-achieving scholars. He died Sept. 4, 2021, at the age of 83. “Dr. Hobson Wildenthal’s name is synonymous with that of UT Dallas,” said UT Dallas President Richard C. Benson. “His work, in great part, built the University into what it is today. He was a tireless advocate who was determined in his efforts to elevate the institution’s reputation and recruit top faculty, staff and students. His leadership helped build a well-rounded university with academic rigor at its core.” Wildenthal’s principal order of business in the early days was student recruitment. His idea was to provide full scholarships for National Merit Scholarship Program finalists in order to attract exceptional young students. Today, UT Dallas is among the top 10 universities in the country with the greatest number of National Merit Scholars — nearly 200 annually. In 2000, inspired by Wildenthal’s successful recruitment efforts, Margaret McDermott made a $32 million gift to establish the Eugene McDermott Scholars Program. Dr. Inga Musselman, who succeeded Wildenthal as provost and vice president for academic affairs in 2017, arrived at UT Dallas in 1992 as an assistant professor. “I consider Dr. Wildenthal to be a colleague, one of my professional mentors, a true friend and an ally for UT Dallas,” Musselman said. “I’ve seen firsthand his efforts to not only build upon the University’s success, but also to innovate. He poured his intellect and soul into UT Dallas throughout the years.” Raised in San Marcos, Texas, and later in the West Texas towns of San Angelo and Alpine, Bryan Hobson Wildenthal graduated in 1958 with a bachelor’s degree in English and mathematics from Sul Ross State University. After graduating from the University of Kansas with a PhD in physics, he held appointments at Rice University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Texas A&M University, Michigan State University, Drexel University and the University of New Mexico. He came to UT Dallas as vice president for academic affairs in 1992 and was named provost in 1994, executive vice president in 1999 and interim president from 2015 to 2016. In 2017, a gift in honor of Wildenthal from the Eugene McDermott Foundation created another endowment of $10 million to support undergraduate research, and the University’s Honors College was renamed the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College. Most recently, his brother and sister-in-law, Dr. Kern and Marnie Wildenthal, made a planned gift to help further endow the Honors College. In 2019, UT Dallas’ Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies honored Hobson Wildenthal with the inaugural Edward M. Ackerman Leadership Award for his role in helping establish and enhance the groundbreaking center. In addition to his brother, Wildenthal is survived by his wife, Adele; five children; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. – Heidi Harris Cannella