Business & Science
Walter Splawn
Arlington-born economist Walter Splawn led the University of Texas in the 1920s, served on the Texas Railroad Commission and later shaped federal regulation of railroads and communications during a long public-service career.
- Roster rank
- #189
- Category
- Business & Science
- Subject type
- Person
- Profile source
- Published Texas Icons profile
Texas story
Life and career
Walter Marshall William Splawn was born in Arlington, Texas, in 1883 and studied at Baylor, Yale and the University of Chicago. After law practice and teaching, he joined the University of Texas economics faculty in 1919 and briefly served on the Texas Railroad Commission before becoming UT president in 1924.
Splawn strengthened graduate education during his university presidency, then moved into national arbitration and regulatory work. His studies of railroads, securities and communications contributed to federal regulatory policy and the Communications Act of 1934; he later served nearly two decades on the Interstate Commerce Commission.
Defining work
What to know
- 9th president of the University of Texas
- Texas Railroad Commission
- Interstate Commerce Commission
- Federal Communications Act policy work
- railroad regulation scholarship
Timeline
Key milestones
- 1883Born in Arlington, Texas.
- 1919Joins the University of Texas economics faculty.
- 1923Serves on the Texas Railroad Commission.
- 1924Becomes president of the University of Texas.
- 1934Begins a nineteen-year tenure on the Interstate Commerce Commission.
Texas connections
Places in the story
Birthplace.
Early legal practice.
Austin
University of Texas faculty and presidential career plus Railroad Commission service.
Legacy
Why the story lasts
Splawn linked Texas academic economics to state and federal regulation at a moment when transportation and communications systems were being reshaped.
His UT presidency helped institutionalize graduate education, while his later Washington career extended his impact far beyond campus.
Sources
Research trail
Cross-linked profiles