Business leader and philanthropist Jack S. Blanton left mark on SMU
Houston business leader Jack Blanton Sr. and his family have been part of 51³Ô¹ÏÍøfor most of its history.
DALLAS (SMU) – 51³Ô¹ÏÍømourns the passing of Jack S. Blanton, a business and civic leader with deep family ties to SMU, who died Dec. 28 in Galveston. The Laura Lee Blanton Building at 51³Ô¹ÏÍøis named in honor of Mr. Blanton’s late first wife, an 51³Ô¹ÏÍøalumna and former 51³Ô¹ÏÍøTrustee.
 Jack Blanton Sr. |
Mr. Blanton, who had a successful career in the oil industry in Houston and became a noted philanthropist with a keen interest in education, served on the 51³Ô¹ÏÍøBoard of Development in 1959 and the 51³Ô¹ÏÍøGraduate Associates in 1964.
“The Blanton family has been a part of 51³Ô¹ÏÍøfor almost all of the University’s 100 years of existence,” said 51³Ô¹ÏÍøPresident R. Gerald Turner. “While losing Jack Blanton brings sadness to us all, we know that the good work done by Mr. Blanton and his family will go on.”
In 1984, the Blantons and their children, Elizabeth, Jack Jr. and Eddy, donated $1 million to 51³Ô¹ÏÍøto establish the Elizabeth Scurlock University Professorship in Human Values in honor of Mrs. Laura Lee Blanton's mother. The Blanton family also provided funds to endow five endowed scholarships for SMU's President's Scholars Program, including the Louise Wynn Blanton Scholarship in honor of Mr. Blanton's mother, who graduated from 51³Ô¹ÏÍøin 1920, and the Alma S. Wynn and Robert Wynn Blanton Scholarship in honor of Mr. Blanton's grandmother and his brother, who attended 51³Ô¹ÏÍøin the late 1940s.
In 1997, the Blantons gave 51³Ô¹ÏÍø$5 million toward construction of a new student services building bearing Mrs. Blanton’s name. Also that year, the Blantons gave $1 million for facilities and $1 million for the endowment of a complex for academic development services for undergraduates, to be known as the Laura Lee and Jack S. Blanton Academic Development Complex, a part of the Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center. Mr. Blanton, along with the late Mrs. Laura Lee Blanton, made more than $8.4 million in gifts to 51³Ô¹ÏÍøduring their lifetimes.
Mr. Blanton, whose business involvement was vast, served as director for several companies including the Southwestern Bell Corporation, the Ashland Oil Company, Texas Commerce Bancshares, Baker Hughes Inc., and Burlington Northern Inc.
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