Pro Bene Meritis

The Pro Bene Meritis award is the highest honor bestowed by the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. The purpose of the award is to honor individuals who are committed to the liberal arts, who have made outstanding contributions in professional or philanthropic pursuits, or who have participated in service related to the College of Liberal Arts. In addition to expressing appreciation to those distinguished individuals so honored, the College of Liberal Arts, through this award, is seeking to heighten public awareness of the critical role played by the liberal arts in education and society today.
The award is presented annually at a dinner in the fall. The alumni, faculty, students and staff of the college take pride in these individuals and the legacy of their character and achievements.

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Pro Bene Meritis Award

The award is presented annually at a dinner in the fall. The alumni, faculty, students and staff of the college take pride in these individuals and the legacy of their character and achievements.

2023 Pro Bene Meritis Recipients

Pete Geren

Pete Geren is President and CEO of the Sid Richardson Foundation, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and the 20th U.S. Secretary of the Army. A native of Fort Worth, he earned his undergraduate degree in history at UT Austin prior to attending The University of Texas Law School. He briefly practiced law in Fort Worth before turning to politics, where he worked as an aide to Democratic Senator Lloyd Bentsen. He was then elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served the citizens of Tarrant and Parker Counties for four consecutive terms. In 2007, Geren was confirmed as 20th Secretary of the United States Army, a post he rose to after joining the Pentagon in September 2001.

As President and CEO of the Sid Richardson Foundation, Geren now brings his strategic vision for societal improvement to bear in his hometown of Fort Worth, honoring the legacy of the foundation’s namesake through support of educational, health, human service, and cultural programs and projects that serve the people of Texas. He also oversees the Sid Richardson Museum. Geren’s personal philanthropy has established crucial scholarships at The University of Texas at Austin, where he has been recognized as both a Distinguished Alumnus and a Distinguished Alumnus for Community Service at the Law School. In addition, Geren and the Sid Richardson Foundation are loyal supporters of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas in the College of Liberal Arts, promoting the thoughtful study of the great books and the core liberal arts values of critical scholarly and civic engagement.

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James Loehlin, Ph.D.

James Loehlin, Ph.D., is the Shakespeare at Winedale Regents Professor of English and Director of the Shakespeare at Winedale program. Loehlin works with the evolving meaning of plays in performance, both from a scholarly and practical perspective. He has published books on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Henry IV,and Henry V, as well as Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. He has directed, acted in, or supervised productions of twenty-five of Shakespeare's plays, as well as all four of Chekhov’s major plays.

A native Austinite, Loehlin majored in Plan II at the College of Liberal Arts and was a student in the Winedale program under founding Director James B. Ayres. After earning an M.A. in English at Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar, he went on to earn a joint Ph.D. in Drama and Humanities at Stanford University and taught in the Drama Department at Dartmouth College for five years, serving as Director of the London Foreign Study Program, before returning to UT in 1999.

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Vasu Raja

Vasu Raja is Chief Commercial Officer at American Airlines. A native of Richardson, TX, Raja majored in humanities at the College of Liberal Arts prior to earning an M.A. in teaching from John Hopkins University, followed by an MBA at Georgetown University. He began his career with Teach for America in 1999 before joining American Airlines in 2004, where he has held a variety of roles, including Chief Revenue Officer and Senior Vice President of Network Strategy. In 2013, he was named one of the Top 50 Executives under 50 by Diversity MBA Magazine, and he is now the Chief Commercial Officer at American Airlines. He oversees American’s Customer organization, global network and has oversight of the airline’s alliances and partnerships, revenue management, and loyalty program, AAdvantage.

Raja is a member of the Texas Exes Alumni Association and the College of Liberal Arts Advisory Council and has been a featured speaker for Liberal Arts Honors student events. A passionate advocate and supporter of a Liberal Arts education, Raja and his wife Maureen have established an endowment to support Liberal Arts Honors and have worked to connect the College to other potential supporters.

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