Retired Lawyer, High Profile Administrator Gives Back to First-Generation Students
Walter L. Sutton, Jr., PhD’89, has a list of career highlights that could fill two or three resumes. He was appointed to a senior role in the Federal Highway Administration by President Bill Clinton; pursued a legal career in oil and gas and at one of the nation’s largest retailers, Walmart; held a cabinet-level position at The University of Texas at Dallas; started his own consulting company.
And he is philanthropically motivated – among other activities, he has endowed a fund to help Dallas Independent School District students reaching for that first rung of success. Sutton and his wife, Beverly, made the first individual endowment to the new Jindal Young Scholars Program. The JYSP program admitted its first four scholarship recipients in May to the Jindal School. All four DISD seniors will be first-generation college students who will receive a complete scholarship for four years to cover room, board, books, fees, tuition and a spending stipend.
“I was very fortunate to have parents who were very supportive of education,” Sutton says, explaining his donation. “I saw an opportunity to support an underserved population of students with the Jindal Young Scholars Program. The program aligns with my passions and gives me an opportunity to interact with millennials, the next group of change-makers in society.”
Billy Schewee, director of Jindal Young Scholars Program, says this first endowment sets the pace for future donors. “Dr. Sutton clearly understands the importance of supporting these students – they have all worked so hard to get to college,” Schewee says. “It’s going to be donors like Dr. Sutton – who understand the value of ensuring every student who qualifies for college actually attends college – who will help DISD students be the success they can be.
“We are extremely grateful for Dr. Sutton’s contribution,” Schewee says.
Staying connected to students has motivated Sutton’s tenure in the classroom, where he’s been an adjunct professor at Jindal School for more than 25 years. Of why he enjoys teaching at Jindal School, he says: “I am able to interact with millennials and get many different perspectives on issues as well as have an impact on their education.”
Sutton, who earned his law degree from University of Michigan, completed his PhD in Business Policy and Strategy at Jindal School when it was just 14 years old. Sutton credits the guiding hand of David Ford, PhD, as a role model during his studies. (Ford retired just last year after teaching at UT Dallas for 42 years.) “My participation in the program was historic as I was the first African-American university-wide to pursue a doctorate,” Sutton says. “It paved the way for others as well as helped pave the way for my career opportunities.”
His advice to students is that they embrace impeccable integrity. “They have to show follow through, work well with others and have the highest work ethic. If one can combine those with a degree from UT Dallas, no one will question their credentials.”
