Remembering Peter T. Flawn

President Flawn, June 15, 1973. Source: MS 27, Gil Barrera Photographs of the University of Texas at San Antonio.

We were sad to hear that UTSA’s second President, Peter Tyrrell Flawn, passed away Sunday at age 91. Originally from Miami, he served in the Army Air Corps in WWII. He studied at Oberlin College and received his doctorate in geology from Yale University. Dr. Flawn taught geology at UT Austin before joining UTSA in 1973.

His presidency from 1973-1977 was a critical time in UTSA’s history. During his tenure the first classes were held (1973), the first commencement ceremony occurred (1974), Main Campus opened (1975), and the university achieved full accreditation for its graduate programs by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Flawn later served as UT Austin’s President, from 1979-1985, and again as interim President in 1997-1998. In 2012 the UTSA Science Building was re-named the…