McCombs School Supporters Pass Away
Alvin Eicoff
Alvin Eicoff, BBA ’43, was a true trailblazer in advertising. Formerly chairman of the board of A. Eicoff & Company (now a subsidiary of Ogilvy & Mather and its parent, WPP Group), the company he founded in 1965, Mr. Eicoff passed away on March 2, 2002, in Florida. Eicoff pioneered the use of television as a direct response medium in the early 1950s. His early work led to many of the still current and hugely successful advertising formats of today, such as the “long form commercial,” or infomercial.
A graduate of UT’s accounting program, Eicoff quickly became interested in marketing, and the many contributions he made to the industry testify to his probing intellect and entrepreneurial nature. A firm believer in the power of education, Eicoff was a frequent guest lecturer in the Marketing Department, and credited his UT education with much of his success.
In recent years, Eicoff received many honors, including election to the McCombs School Hall of Fame and the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame. He was also named one of the 20th century’s 50 most influential individuals in advertising by Advertising Age.
At the McCombs School, Al and his wife Helene established the Alvin and Helene Eicoff Endowed Professorship in Direct Broadcast Marketing to benefit marketing faculty, and the Eicoff Endowed Presidential Scholarship Fund, supporting seven students this year.
Bobbie Rainey Sublett
Bobbie Rainey Sublett, wife of Brigadier General Coulter R. Sublett and donor of a Centennial Professorship in their name, passed away on March 3, 2002. Born in 1911 in Longview, she attended Texas Women’s University and the University of Texas at Austin.
An active participant in university life, she was a member of the Chancellor’s Council, the President’s Associates, the Littlefield Society, the Longhorn Foundation, and the Sublett Society in the Pharmacy School where she was also an emeritus member of the Advisory Council. She was also a founding member of the Eyes of Texas Club and served on the travel committee for three decades.
In 1982, Bobbie and her husband established the Bobbie and Coulter R. Sublett Centennial Professorship, which supports the teaching and research of senior faculty at the McCombs School. “Their generosity has helped me deliver the research that a top-tier university expects from its faculty,” said Steven Salbu, current holder of the Sublett Professorship and a University Distinguished Teaching Professor.
The family requests that remembrances be sent to The Bobbie & Coulter Sublett Centennial Professorship at the McCombs School of Business or the Texas Exes.
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
