Former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, also a former Texas A&M professor, presented eight Texas A&M students with scholarships to support their research efforts.
By Keith Randall, Texas A&M University Marketing and Communications
Citing his long affinity for graduate students and the role they have at a major university, former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm presented eight Texas A&M University doctoral students with the U.S. Senator Phil Gramm Doctoral Fellowship Awards during a ceremony Thursday on campus.
The awards, each for $5,000, will support the research efforts of the students as they pursue their doctoral degrees.
The awards are named for Phil Gramm, who earned his doctorate from the University of Georgia and served as an economics professor at Texas A&M for 12 years before embarking on a highly successful political career — first serving as a U.S. Congressman from Texas in 1978. In 1984, he was elected to serve in the U.S. Senate, and he went on to spend 24 years in Congress, working on numerous budgetary, welfare and homeland security reforms.
“It was 50 years ago that I got my Ph.D and headed here to the campus of Texas A&M,” Gramm said.
“I taught economics here and I loved every second of it. When my son got his doctorate, I told him if you truly care about the students you teach, they will discover more and learn more, and you will love it.
“It’s not unusual for students to still come up to me and say, ‘you changed my life.’ That means the world to me,” Gramm added. “I would not trade the 12 years I taught here at Texas A&M for anything.”
Gramm authored numerous articles and books while at Texas A&M ranging from monetary theory to mineral extraction economics.
Currently, he is senior adviser to U.S. Policy Metrics, an economic and public policy research firm in Washington, D.C. He is married to Wendy Lee Gramm, a former member of The Texas A&M System Board of Regents and former chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission under Presidents Reagan and Bush. They have two sons, Marshall, Texas A&M Class of 2000, and Jeff.
The awards were presented by Karen Butler-Purry, associate provost for Graduate and Professional Studies, and Rosana Moreira, assistant provost for Graduate and Professional Studies.