Hudman, Lee

Biography

Lee Hudman was born in 1929, grew up in Orange, Texas, earned her BBA from Southwestern University, and completed postgraduate courses in education at Southwest Texas State (SWT) Teachers College where she obtained a secondary teaching certificate. While working at the Chase Field Naval Air Station in Beeville, Hudman was selected by the Internal Revenue Service as one of the first women in Texas to be trained as a revenue officer. After working in Houston in that position, she transferred to Washington, D.C., where she worked as an auditor in the IRS Office of International Operations until 1965. Hudman then became the assistant to Commissioner Willard Deason of the Interstate Commerce Commission, before serving as Texas Senator John Tower's staff assistant for a number of years. While in Washington, Hudman and her husband John Thorman Hudman organized the Washington, D.C. SWT Ex-Students Club.

In 1976, Hudman returned to Texas to work for Robert L. Hardesty. She joined him during his tenure in The University of Texas system in Austin and worked as his top assistant during the beginning of his presidency at Southwest Texas State University. In 1983, Hudman became executive director for development and alumni affairs, a post she held until 1988. She served on the San Marcos Community Relations Council and the board of directors of the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce.

Texas 150 Oral History

Lee Hudman discusses how her ties with the university brought her back to San Marcos long after she graduated. She begins by describing how she and her husband lived in Dr. James Taylor's garage apartment during their studies, before moving to Washington D.C. Hudman also talks about the changes that took place in San Marcos and the university during her absence, what she believes Texas State will be like in future years. She also talks about the Alumni House's history in relation to LBJ.

LBJ100 Oral History

Lee Hudman begins her interview by talking about meeting Bill Deason, a close friend of Lyndon Johnson’s, while at a SWT Alumni Association gathering in Washington, D.C. Deason offered her a job running his office at the Interstate Commerce Commission, and it was Deason who made arrangements for the Alumni Association to present certificates of appreciation to President Johnson. She talks about moving back to Texas, working for Robert Hardesty and then for the university, and Hardesty’s goal of restoring a relationship with the community and strengthening university ties to LBJ.