With Cheers and Fanfare, SAC Atrium Is Named for Margaret C. Berry
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“Margaret, I think you have some friends here.”
With that understatement, President Bill Powers opened today’s dedication ceremony at the Student Activity Center.
After students and alumni lobbied for more than a year, the center’s atrium was officially named in honor of Margaret C. Berry, BA ’37, Life Member. Berry, 96, is a campus legend and Distinguished Alumna.
A crowd of more than 200 alumni, students, and friends gathered on the SAC lawn for the ceremony. The mood was festive, as the Longhorn Band played peppy tunes and guests mingled under orange banners. A toddler wearing cowboy boots and a burnt-orange tutu clapped her hands to the music.
Cheers went up when Berry stepped out of a limousine and walked toward the stage. She was visibly emotional throughout the ceremony, often wiping away tears.
Alumni Rick Potter and Cyndy Powell read a long litany of organizations—from Orange Jackets to Student Government—that Berry served during her nearly 80 years as a student, staff member, and all-around campus presence.
Berry fans came from both coasts for the event. The speakers included entrepreneur Steve Poizner, who lives in Silicon Valley, and Debra Law McKeown, of Washington, D.C.
Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin), Austin mayor Lee Leffingwell both spoke about how Berry influenced them personally.
“Margaret is what our parents wanted us to become,” Doggett said. “Even through the tumult of the 1960s, her grace and professionalism maintained the confidence of the entire University.”
Leffingwell proclaimed April 13, 2012, as Margaret C. Berry Day in the city of Austin.
“I don’t deserve this and I can’t thank you enough,” Berry told the crowd. “The University of Texas is a great place to be. And you make your own place in it. We can all do the little things that make a difference in someone’s life.”
Afterward, as the Longhorn Band marched away, an observer heard one tuba player tell another, “I hope I can love UT as much as that woman has.”
Photos by Marsha Miller
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5 Comments
This is a wonderful piece. I especially thought the final line, “I hope I can love UT as much as she has,” really summed up the spirit of the article and the dedication. Joe Gilliland, BA, ’49
This is a wonderful piece. I especially like the final line, “I hope I can love UT as much as she has.” It really summed up the article and the dedication.” Point: I believe I have
Joe Gilliland, BA ’49
I am so proud of you and your influence on many lives, especially students at UT and East Texas State University, and definitely your influence on my life and that of Charles McDonald. We love you and honor you for your trail blazing attitude that inspired us and many other women and poor students who needed a friend and mentor, and, I might add, scholarships to keep going. You are wonderful!!! What a well-lived life!
And the bus load of friends from Westminster stood and applauded Margaret!
The event was fantastic! I was disappointed, however, that the reporter failed to mention Debra Law
McKeown as one of the speakers (The only one she did not mention) Debra is a proud Texas Ex currently living in Washington D.C. Sharing the story of her grandfather as a faculty member at UT while Dr. Berry was enrolled as a student, the long personal history of their two families and the influence Dr. Berry had on her life was truly inspirational!
Debra is owed an apology.