The speaker was The Honorable J. J. "Jake" Pickle, 31-year Representative for the 10th Congressional District of Texas, now retired. A '38 graduate (and Student Body President) of The University of Texas at Austin, Mr. Pickle began work immediately to solve problems directly affecting the future. He later moved to Washington, D.C., to work for then-Congressman Lyndon Johnson—a union to be renewed some years later, when Mr. Pickle won a special election to Congress representing the ten-county 10th District of Texas, and President Johnson occupied the Oval Office.   Known to be a thorough and hard-working moderate, Mr. Pickle had a reputation of listening to all points of view while remaining an independent thinker. As the third-ranking Democrat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, he was deeply involved in the economic, tax, trade and health legislation that dominated Congress in the 1980s and 1990s.

J. J. "Jake" Pickle

Thanks in part to Mr. Pickle's leadership, Austin is now a high-tech center, home to MCC, the microelectronics research consortium, and the J. J. Pickle Research Campus (formerly the University of Texas Balcones Research Center), a world-class technology research facility.

Mr. Pickle led the fight to secure federal funds for a pioneering partnership between government and industry to restore U. S. competitiveness in the multi-billion dollar semiconductor industry. His efforts resulted in Austin's acquiring SEMATECH—universally regarded as one of the most successful public/private initiatives ever.

A lifetime of national and community service has won Jake Pickle more honors and awards than can be mentioned here, but one has only to look around The University of Texas at Austin's campus to see tangible proof of the esteem and regard in which he is held: from the 450-acre Pickle Research Center to the major scholarship trust fund in his name at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, and the Chair created in his honor by the UT Government department.

When one speaks of "enlightened representation," The Honorable J. J. "Jake" Pickle's name comes to mind, first and foremost.

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Reception:  A reception in the atrium area on the third floor of the College of Business Administration building immediately followed the ceremony.

Live and archived Webcast:  There was a live Webcast of the ceremony; it was archived and is available via this link. (NOTE: The Webcast file size is 240 megabytes!)  Viewing the Webcast requires a RealPlayer browser plug-in.  More information regarding UT Austin Webcasts is available.

General UT Commencement Information:  More information about other departmental and college ceremonies, (including Saturday Night's University-wide festivities at the base of the UT Tower) is available on the UT Commencement 2000 page.