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Alumni in the Press : Fall 2001
Ambassador to Uruguay returns to Texas
Christopher Ashby, MBA 70, could not have known when he was an undergraduate student at Georgetown University in the 1960s that he’d be spending some time in a foreign country, courtesy of his roommate. Well, his roommate went on to become two-term president of the United States Bill Clinton, and “Kit” Ashby, with an extensive background in foreign investment banking, was appointed Ambassador to Uruguay in 1997.
He had traveled the world extensively in positions with Chase Manhattan and Chemical Banks, and Ashby says his biggest challenge as an ambassador had nothing to do with adapting to the culture but was to inject private sector management practices into the performance of diplomacy. “Planning and strategy were not a part of typical embassy operation,” he says.
Ashby also sought to upend the old-style U.S. diplomatic method of ‘telling and explaining.’ “Countries being served by U.S. embassies were never asked for their input on what could be in it for them,” says Ashby. As a result, the U.S. has often been viewed as an arrogant power. “New diplomacy involves an ability to see things from other points of view, then to design solutions to fit the needs of everyone,” he says.
While U.S. interests in the area lie mostly in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile—the larger economies of Latin America—Uruguay holds an important, if often overlooked, position. “Uruguay can do things with Brazil, for instance, that the United States can’t,” explains Ashby. “The effect that Uruguay can have on Brazil is important, and so it acts as a conduit for the U.S.”
According to Ashby, Uruguay has come a long way since the cold war when it was under a military dictatorship. It’s now a thoroughly modern country with high life expectancy, low poverty rates, and a good education system, Ashby says. “The Peace Corps doesn’t even go there any more.” What the country now seeks is free trade. “They are ready and willing to open their markets to us, and this Congress may be in the position to do that.”
As a political appointee, Ashby’s term of service came to an end with the outgoing president. He’s now living in Houston with his family and looking at a broad range of opportunities in both the private and public sectors.
Eisemann Names New Performing Arts Center
Through the Communities Foundation of Texas, Charles W. Eisemann, BBA 62, MBA 66, made a $2 million gift to the City of Richardson’s new performing arts center. The center, to be named the Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts and Corporate Presentations, is slated for completion in June 2002.
Long-time supporters of the Richardson Symphony and the arts in general, Eisemann and his wife Ann believe that a strong arts program raises the quality of life in any community. “We wanted this performance hall to be the very best that it could be,” he said. The new performance center is part of the public/private collaborative effort known as Galatyn Park Urban Center at Central Expressway and East Lookout Drive in Richardson. The venue is expected to attract a broad range of cultural arts from around the world as well as add significantly to the local facilities available for corporate events.
Eisemann was chairman of the board of Chaparral Bancshares, Inc. and Canyon Creek National Bank until its merger with Bank of Texas. He is founder, president, and chairman of Industrial Relations International, Inc. Eisemann has been a member of the Richardson Symphony board since 1988 and now serves on the Symphony’s Strategic Advisory Committee.
Morgan Woodward Personifies Texas in Film
Although he doesn’t get back to Texas that often, Morgan Woodward, BBA 51, spent the better part of his acting career portraying life in the Wild West—from his first film The Great Locomotive Chase, to television shows Wyatt Earp, Gunsmoke, and Wagon Train. “I had a rugged face and looked good in a cowboy hat,” he said of the type-casting. “I’m also pretty good at talking like a cowboy!” Woodward also appeared in the show Dallas and many futuristic programs, including Star Trek and Logan’s Run.
With over 250 television and motion picture films to his name, including Cool Hand Luke, Woodward celebrated 50 years in show business in 1997 and received the International Star Award in Los Angeles.
Not bad for a guy who had his high hopes of a career singing in the Metropolitan opera dashed by recurring allergies and the slow growth of grand opera in America. It was a Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity brother and fellow actor, Fess Parker, who introduced Woodward to Walt Disney, essentially launching an acting career that has spanned half a century. He continues to act, and most recently appeared in episodes of the X-Files and Millennium.
Woodward was back in Austin for his 50-year reunion this spring. Reminiscing about his days as a UT student, Woodward said he remembered the fraternity parties best and a certain business communications course infamous university-wide for the ruthlessness of its instructor, Mr. W.P. Boyd. “I did fine in that class, I didn’t have any problems,” he remembered, “but everyone was terrified to take it.”
Woodward is a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin.
