Robert W. Lawless

Robert William Lawless (born February 13, 1937) is an American academic and executive.[1] He served as president of Texas Tech University from 1989 to 1996 and president of the University of Tulsa from 1996 to 2004. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree (1964) from the University of Houston and a Doctor of Philosophy degree (1968) from Texas A&M University in operations research. Lawless has also served as executive vice president and chief operations officer of Southwest Airlines from 1985 to 1989,[2] after serving in various positions with the airline, including vice president for finance and chief financial officer.[3][4]

Lawless succeeded Robert H. Donaldson, who announced his intention to resign at the end of the 1995-1996 year, after an often contentious 6-year tenure at TU, during which he often clashed with both students and faculty,[lower-alpha 1] according to a news article.[4] The same article noted that Lawless angered gay and lesbian students at Texas Tech in 1993 by a letter he wrote, calling their lifestyles "deviant...something that I can never condone, and hold in great contempt."[4]

During his tenure at Tech, Lawless raised the school's endowment. from $40 million to $150 million. Tech also had 24,000 students when he moved from Lubbock, compared to TU's 4,386.[4]