Dudley and Maline McCalla

 

 

 

 

 

Steady As They Go

In philanthropy, in life, constancy is the greatest gift

She has roots in Austin that run deep—all the way to Rueben Hornsby, who has been identified as Travis County’s first settler. Maline Gilbert McCalla says that living elsewhere would be hard to imagine, so strong is her sense of place.

Fortunately for Maline, Dudley McCalla has found his sense of place in her. A successful lawyer who, last year, was honored with the first Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Administrative and Public Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, Dudley once suggested that the couple relocate to Houston. “I thought I could earn more money there,” he explains. Maline vetoed the idea, which was just fine with Dudley. Although his family is from Houston, “I’d like to say that we got to Austin as fast as we could.”

So the McCallas happily stayed put, moving only twice—staying within the city--during the 53 years they have been married (they built their current home in 1973). They raised their three sons in Austin, and have dedicated themselves to enriching the city they love through their work, innumerable volunteer activities, and philanthropy.

It’s no surprise that The University of Texas at Austin would be the lucky recipient of much of the McCalla’s beneficence: the university has figured prominently in both their lives. Maline’s grandfather was the founding doctor at UT Austin’s Student Health Center. Both her mother and her father, also a doctor, were UT graduates. Maline’s father has a named endowment established in his honor. Maline received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the university, as did Dudley, whose own father played baseball for the UT Longhorns in the 1920s.

In addition to the countless volunteer hours dedicated to various initiatives at the institution, the McCallas created the Maline (Mary Ailine) Gilbert McCalla Scholarship in 2008 to benefit UT Austin’s College of Fine Arts. The couple then became members of the Chancellor’s Council of The University of Texas System.

The couple's steadfast support to the UT System began well before they established an endowment, however. The McCallas became members of the 1881 Society in 1988, in recognition of their more than 20 years of cumulative giving.

Such fidelity is a defining characteristic of Maline and Dudley. They are consistent in their support because they have seen how, across the state, the cultural, educational and health-related advancements made at UT institutions have benefitted Texas. The McCallas are gratified to contribute to the positive change the UT System can help direct—such as with establishing two new medical schools and a new university in the Rio Grande Valley.

Appreciative and grateful for the UT System, the McCallas remain faithful donors.