Former First Lady of Texas Idanell "Nellie" Brill Connally is known for her personal grace and deep commitment to public service. While the distinguished alumnus of The University of Texas at Austin credits her own high profile to her marriage to the late Texas Governor John B. Connally, she has worked tirelessly for numerous causes for decades.
As First Lady from 1963 to 1969, she was an advocate for public and higher education-including support for teacher pay raises, a statewide scholarship program, expanded libraries and new doctoral programs-to bolster Texas' move from an agriculture- to a technology-based state.
Higher education was always of primary importance to the Connallys, who saw access to quality education as a key to meeting the state's challenges. Establishing a coordinating board to oversee Texas' public colleges and universities was a priority for Governor Connally, and in 1965 he signed legislation enacting the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board-a measure that ultimately helped create The University of Texas at San Antonio.
In 1989, The University of Texas System Board of Regents designated a large conference room at the Institute of Texan Cultures in honor of the Connallys, noting, "The naming of this conference center [as the Nellie B. and John B. Connally Conference Center] recognizes that The University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio owes its existence to the personal vision, effort and understanding of former Governor John B. Connally and the enthusiastic ongoing support of Nellie Connally as the state's First Lady."
She also is an accomplished author. In 2003, she released a memoir, co-authored with Mickey Herskowitz, From Love Field: Our Final Hours with President John Kennedy. Connally is the lone surviving passenger of the car in which President Kennedy was assassinated.
Today, Mrs. Connally is a passionate advocate for breast cancer education. "I always felt I had a responsibility to help the people of Texas," Connally said on her 80th birthday, celebrated in part at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. A breast-cancer survivor, Connally led fundraising efforts for a facility there now bearing her name. She also has raised awarenes s and funds for mental health, juvenile diabetes and tuberculosis research.
The University community is honored to present the Gold Star Award (now known as the President's Award) to Mrs. John B. Connally.