Press Releases | Aug, 15 2013
AUSTIN, Texas, August 15, 2013 — The University of Texas at Austin and LBJ School communities mourn the loss of former acting university president William S. Livingston, who died this morning. He was 93.
“Bill Livingston embodied all the best qualities of a university leader: erudition, eloquence, sweeping vision, warmth and good humor,” said University President Bill Powers. “The University of Texas is a better place for his lifetime of service. He was an inspiration to generations of Longhorns, and we all will miss him.”
An Ohio native and World War II veteran, Dr. Livingston earned the Bronze Star and Purple Heart in the Battle of the Bulge. He came to UT Austin in 1949 as a Government professor and spent the next six decades teaching and serving the university in various roles, including chair of the Government Department, vice chancellor of academic programs, and vice president and dean of graduate studies. He led the committee that planned the development of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.
“Bill Livingston was everyone’s ideal of the quintessential scholar/teacher,” said Larry Temple, Chairman of the LBJ Foundation, the non-profit organization that supports the LBJ School and the LBJ Presidential Library. “His teaching talents extended far beyond the classroom. All of us who had the joy of knowing him learned something from him at every encounter. Ever with a twinkle in his eye and a wry smile on his face, this sometimes mischievous man was the epitome of dignity and grace. Bill Livingston’s lasting legacy is that he made everyone who knew him a better person.”
In 1992, Dr. Livingston also served as acting president of The University of Texas at Austin.
He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Lana; two sons and daughters-in-law; two grandsons and their wives; and four great-grandchildren.
Dr. Livingston was also beloved by more recent alumni as the baritone voice of TEX, the 1990s telephone registration system, from which he signed off each call with “Goodbye and good luck.”
