DALLAS (SMU) — Seven highly accomplished individuals will be in the spotlight at the SMU Dedman School of Law Distinguished Alumni Awards Ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 19, at the Westin Galleria, 13340 Dallas Parkway, Dallas.
A special alumni selection committee carefully considers nominations, selecting recipients who are standouts in their fields, including judicial, public and government service, as well as private, corporate and international practice. An honorary award also acknowledges exceptional service to the law school.
A tradition since 1986, the Distinguished Alumni Awards dinner is the SMU Dedman School of Law’s premier annual event. This year’s awards and recipients are:
Robert G. Storey Award for Distinguished Achievement (highest honor bestowed)—Jack D. Knox, J.D. ’63:
Knox serves as general partner of Six Flags Over Texas Fund Ltd., which he helped found. He is the developer of Cafe Pacific and Patrizio restaurants in Dallas, and is president of Cafe Pacific, Inc. He is the founder and president of the Fund for Sick Children, a private foundation that supplies medicine and equipment to Third World countries. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from SMU in 1960 and a Juris Doctor degree in 1963. After graduation, he was active in the oil and gas industry, developing and selling energy companies, both public and private, for more than 30 years. He has worked as chairman and CEO for such major Texas companies as Summit Energy Inc. and El Chico Inc. His civic and honorary appointments and directorships range from serving on the board of trustees of Medical City Hospital in Dallas to being on SMU’s associate board of the Cox School of Business and executive board of Dedman College of Humanities & Sciences. He is active in many groups related to stopping animal abuse, and received the Humanitarian of the Year award from Operation Kindness in 2005.
Distinguished Global Alumni Award—Sobchok Sukharomna, M.C.L. ’81:
Chief Justice Sukharomna has been president of the Supreme Court of Thailand, the country’s highest court, since October 2009. He has authored landmark decisions related to serious crimes as well as family and civil cases. Sukharomna has devoted himself to judicial service for 35 years. He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree with honors from Thammasat University in 1970, and qualified as a barrister-at-law of the Institute of Legal Education of the Thai Bar Association in 1971. In 1980, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to further his studies in the United States, and earned a Master of Comparative Law from the SMU Dedman School of Law in 1981. His award will be presented at a later date in Thailand.
Distinguished Alumni Award for Corporate Service—Richard Wright- Hogeland, J.D. ’57, M.C.L. ’58:
Hogeland currently divides his time between Portugal, England, Ireland and Switzerland. He practiced law for eight years, working as international counsel for the Aluminum Company of America and general counsel for the Warner Lambert Pharmaceutical Company. He left the field of law and became chairman and CEO of Barnes and Tucker Coal Mining Company, which he eventually sold to Alco Standard Corporation before becoming chairman and CEO of its World Resource Company and a director of Alco Standard. Hogeland then joined Gulf & Western Corporation and was chairman and CEO of its Natural Resource Group, which focused on the international mining and oil/gas business. He left the corporate world to become a successful entrepreneur, buying and running companies in the U.S., France and Saudi Arabia, and helping turn around seven organizations. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oklahoma, a Juris Doctor in 1957 and a Master of Laws in comparative law in 1958—the latter two from the SMU Dedman School of Law. He also earned a Master of Laws in international law from Harvard University School of Law and a diploma in comparative law from The University of Luxembourg.
Distinguished Alumni Award for Judicial Service—Barbara J. Houser, J.D., ‘78:
Houser is Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Texas, a position held for more than a decade. As vice president of the American College of Bankruptcy, she lectures and publishes frequently on corporate restructuring and insolvency law. She is a member of the SMU Dedman School of Law executive board and chair of the board of directors for the Legal Hospice of Texas. She received her undergraduate degree with high distinction from the University of Nebraska in 1975. She earned her Doctor of Laws from the SMU Dedman School of Law in 1978, where she was an editor of the Law Review. After graduation she joined Locke, Purnell, Boren, Laney & Neely in Dallas, where she became a shareholder. Three years later she joined Sheinfeld, Maley & Kay, P.C., as the shareholder-in-charge of the Dallas office. While there she led the firm’s representation of clients in a variety of significant cases, including one involving Dow Corning Corporation—one of the largest Chapter 11 cases ever filed. She was named by The National Law Journal in 1998 one of the 50 most influential women lawyers in America.
Distinguished Alumni Award for Private Practice—Donald J. Malouf, B.L. ’62:
After 45 years of successful law practice, primarily served at Malouf Lynch Jackson & Swinson in Dallas, he now serves as a consultant/facilitator for a limited number of families as well as his former firm. He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1957 and his master’s in the same in 1964, both from the University of Texas at Austin. He received his law degree from the SMU Dedman School of Law in 1962. He has authored or co-authored many professional articles and books, including 10 books on tax and estate planning, and has taught law courses at SMU and elsewhere. He was named in Robb Report’s Worth Magazine as one of 100 top lawyers in America for his assisting successful entrepreneurs and affluent families, and has won numerous accolades, including being continually listed among “best lawyers” by major publications. He has served as a full or advisory board member for many educational, charitable and arts organizations.
Distinguished Alumni Award for Public Service—Philip J. Wise, J.D. ’81:
Wise is campaign steering committee co-chair and a member of the executive board of the SMU Dedman School of Law. He has received local and national recognition for his public education reform work. In 1987, he was one of the founders of Habitat for Humanity in Dallas, and he formed Mission Holdings and Cienda Partners in 1999 to better support his business and public service activities. He graduated with honors with Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees from SMU in 1978, and a Juris Doctor from the SMU Dedman School of Law in 1981. Upon graduation, he practiced law with the firm Wise and Stuhl. At age 26, he left private practice to pursue a career in real estate development and investment. He has led more than $2 billion in real estate transactions, primarily as investment manager for the Trammell Crow family. In 1999, Wise launched Greenleaf Village, one of the nation's largest public, private and non-profit urban redevelopments—one that has received national recognition. In 2002, he co-founded the Trinity Strand Trail, and in 2006, was one of the founders of the Dallas Faith Communities Coalition.
The Honorary Alumnus Award: Marshall P. Cloyd:
Cloyd is founder and chairman of the board of InterMarine Incorporated, an international oil services company for the marine sector that has operated for 29 years in 40 countries. He serves on the executive board and campaign steering committee of the SMU Dedman School of Law. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from SMU (’64) and a Master of Science in civil engineering from Stanford University. He attended Harvard Business School, and in 2010, was made Domus Fellow for St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, England. Cloyd’s mother, Frances Spears Cloyd, was one of the first women to earn a law degree at SMU, and the first to earn a Master of Laws degree from the SMU Dedman School of Law. While Cloyd, himself, did not attend the law school, he has repeatedly proven that he is a dedicated supporter by providing scholarship opportunities in honor of his mother’s legacy for both current J.D. and LL.M. students and those yet to come.
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