Eddie Joe Davis ’67 will be the keynote speaker for the 2017 Aggie Muster ceremony on Friday, April 21 at 7 p.m. in Reed Arena on the campus of Texas A&M University. The annual event is the largest of more than 300 Muster ceremonies held across the nation and around the world in honor of Aggies who died during the past year.
Davis, known as “Eddie Joe” to his peers, said he is “very honored” to be selected as the speaker for one of the oldest and most revered traditions at Texas A&M.
“Obviously, selection as the Campus Muster speaker is the pinnacle experience in a lifetime love affair with Texas A&M,” he said. “It is made even more special knowing the selection is done by students.”
Davis earned his bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M in agricultural journalism while serving as commander of the Corps of Cadets from 1966 to 1967 under the leadership of then-University President General James Earl Rudder. He served four years of active duty, including a tour in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and retired as a colonel in the Army Reserve. After earning master’s and doctoral degrees from Texas A&M, he worked for the university and the university system in multiple capacities. He served as both the chief operating officer and the executive deputy chancellor for The Texas A&M University System, an interim university president, a tenured professor and, most recently, the president of the Texas A&M Foundation.
Members of the class of 1967 will join Davis at the ceremony, as their 50th annual class reunion meets in conjunction with the events surrounding Aggie Muster. After Davis addresses the current and former students, their family and friends, and his former classmates, names of each of the deceased will be read aloud during the “Roll Call For The Absent.” Family members and friends representing each of them will respond and light a candle in honor of their loved one.
For more information on the tradition of Muster, as well as information about the campus ceremony and surrounding events, visit muster.tamu.edu.
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Media contact: Elena Watts, Division of Marketing & Communications, at (979) 458-8412 or elenaw@tamu.edu, or Bailey McCracken, Aggie Muster Committee, at (210) 452-6520 or musterspeaker@tamu.edu
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