Honoring the legacy of Huckabee College greats Jim and John White, alumni raised over $500,000 to establish an endowed fellowship named after the professors.

The names Jim and John White are synonymous with Texas Tech University’s Huckabee College of Architecture for decades of its alumni.

The twin brothers had a combined 91 years of service to the university and witnessed countless milestones and achievements for the college, its students and their field.

Chris Huckabee, the lead donor for Huckabee College, has often and publicly recognized Jim and John as his greatest mentors. Huckabee admitted he naively thought he was the only one who felt this way about the White brothers in his younger years. 

“They would pour into their students,” Huckabee said, “but I always thought I was the only one. Then I learned later there wasn’t one of me; there were hundreds, if not thousands of people like me where Jim or John would make this huge impact in their lives. Without them, I would not be an architect for certain, and I don’t believe I'd be a college graduate. I don’t believe I’m the only one who will say that either.”

Looking back, many alumni of Huckabee College credit Jim and John for several of the professional achievements they have accomplished – crediting the professors’ mentorship, honesty, humility, affirmation and countless other admirable qualities for building the personal and professional skills they needed to succeed in the architectural field.

For Dan Hart, a 1990 graduate of Huckabee College, he felt the brothers had the distinct trait of making students feel seen. He and others shared that more than feeling of being understood, it was the cultivation of innate architectural talent Jim and John took on without forcing their ideas onto the students that made them such talented professors. 

“There are a thousand different ways to be an architect,” Hart said. “This idea of design thinking is truly unique.  When it comes to educating students, it is tempting for architecture professors to, consciously or subconsciously, create architects in their own image. But Jim and John, their whole purpose was to bring up the architect that you were intended to be, to bring out the architect in you.”

Education Is In Their DNA

As alumni of Huckabee College gathered for events such as Texas Tech Centennial celebrations, football tailgates, the college naming and other Red Raider events, a conversation could hardly be had without bringing up a memory of the two brothers.

This included meetings of the Design Leadership Alliance (DLA), the official organization of Huckabee College’s alumni and supporters. The group supports the college through fundraising, promotion and connection by hosting events, mentoring students, celebrating alumni with awards, sponsoring lectures and more.

In addition to this work, the DLA also helps leadership with evaluating the critical needs of the college. One of those needs is increasing the number of graduate students enrolling. To become a registered architect, students must complete a two-year master’s degree, but many Texas Tech students are choosing to pursue their graduate degree at other institutions because other universities are offering greater fellowship opportunities.

As an organization dedicated to strengthening connections within the college, members knew having alumni with divided university affiliations would be counterintuitive to that mission. They began devising a plan to raise funds for a new fellowship to support graduate students.

Concurrently, Huckabee was looking for a way to honor his longtime mentors at the college. While his family had historically focused on giving to undergraduate scholarships, he knew when he heard the need to support graduate students from the DLA that it was the perfect opportunity for what he had in mind.

“I have had a long desire to recognize Jim and John White in a very appropriate way for their years of service and just the legacy that they left at Texas Tech,” Huckabee said. “So, all these things just kind of came together. When we started talking, it was just natural. It was like, ‘This makes perfect sense. Let's make this happen, and let's do it in honor of two really amazing people who've had an impact on so many students.’”

With this idea, the James E. White, AIA and John P. White, AIA Graduate Fellowship was created, and Huckabee College alumni were given the opportunity to support the fund. 

They answered in droves.

In a short five months, alumni have given more than $500,000 in honor of their beloved professors. This includes a matching gift from Chris Huckabee and his wife, Robin. Huckabee College expects to begin supporting graduate students with this fellowship in the fall 2025 semester.

In late September, the DLA hosted the Beaux Arts Ball, an event to celebrate Jim and John, as well as the success of the fundraiser. About 200 alumni and guests came to Lubbock and had the chance to visit with the White brothers and reconnect with their former classmates and professors, as well as their alma mater.

Sadly, John passed away shortly after the event on Nov. 7, 2024, but because of the fund, his influence will continue to be felt by future architects for generations to come.

While each person who gave has a unique connection to Jim and John White, there was a consistent theme across each story of why they donated – these men changed lives. And it is the donors’ hope their gifts allow other students’ lives to be changed in the same way.

Chris Huckabee

Huckabee’s initial connection with the White brothers was when John taught his design studio class as a first-year student.

His first couple weeks of class, he would run into John in the hallway. When he would talk to John about things that had happened in class, his professor would act like he didn’t know what he was talking about.

“I kept having these odd encounters with him because I didn’t know there were two of them, and no one told me,” Huckabee said with a laugh. “Eventually, I found out it was Jim, and Jim didn't know me. They seemed to enjoy that joke quite a bit.”

His first architectural project in college was to design a tower in John’s class. While he thought he had done a spectacular job, John had given him a C. Huckabee stormed into John’s office ready to make his defense, and John calmly offered to go review the project with him.

After the review, Huckabee was grateful to have not failed the project, but John didn’t just point out his faults. 

“At the same time, he told me something that changed me,” Huckabee said. “He said, ‘You have more talent than you realize. You're just not applying it, and you need to change the way you think.’ We were instantly close after that. We were just instant friends. He was an amazing mentor. He was very hard on me in college. He would push me very hard. But I had that relationship with both Jim and John. They really loved and cared about me, but they were not easy on me.”

From that moment on, Jim and John have been permanent fixtures in Huckabee’s life. From serving as his internship advisers on a project in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to hand drawing designs for his home in Tech Terrace, and from helping him secure his first job in Breckenridge, Colorado, to sitting in the front row as he came back to address students at his alma mater, their support has never wavered.

It is this relationship and legacy that inspired Huckabee to honor his professors through the James E. White, AIA and John P. White, AIA Graduate Fellowship. It is a testament to their dedication to students like Huckabee, to whom they have devoted their lives.

“I look back on John’s and Jim’s lives, and they could have gone and run very successful practices and made a lot more money,” Huckabee said. “But they put their value in exactly what they did, which was to show up every day and to pour into students and to watch that multiply in the students who left and did great things. I call that a life well-lived, and I feel like they did that.”

Dan Hart

Hart graduated with dual bachelor’s degrees in architecture and civil engineering from Texas Tech in 1990 and is now the executive vice president of architecture at Parkhill. He served as national president of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), as well as president of the DLA.

He met Jim and John early on in his college career. 

While he never had John as a professor, Jim was his professor in a summer design studio class. Over the course of the summer, they were tasked with designing a building, and through this intense course, he got to know Jim well.

“I remember we were designing a coal museum of all things,” Hart said with a chuckle. “I just talked to Jim yesterday and we were reminiscing about that.”

Although Hart initially met the White brothers at Texas Tech, his favorite memory with them came years after he graduated at an industry conference. In a sprawling convention center packed across a sea of people, Hart saw two identical men making a beeline for him.

When they reached him across the concourse, Jim stuck out his hand and said, “We just had to come see how the boy from Seymour is doing!”

Of the countless students Jim and John had taught in their career, it was so touching to Hart that they remembered such a minute detail like the hometown of one.

“I just was astounded that this was years after I'd graduated, and how many students that they knew, and it warmed my heart,” Hart said. “I hear stories like this all the time of how much they know about you and retain. I think part of what John and Jim did so well is they made you feel like you belonged there. They're just so down to earth and warm and encouraging.”

It is a sense of belonging and encouragement that helped build Hart into the architect he is today and is a large part of what inspired him to donate to the new fellowship. Jim and John took the time to invest in him, to bring out the architect in him, and through this fellowship, that legacy will forever be remembered.

“They wanted students to find out what kind of architect you need to be,” Hart said. “I don't think there’s anything more valuable than that affirmation about your own personal journey and quest and exploration. And for me, this was the place that happened, and it was partially due to their influence. 

“I have such warmth and gratitude for that, and it motivates me to think about people, especially from my situation, coming here and having that experience. Boy, that's just priceless, to think that you're helping to make that possible for other people is...That's just really gratifying.”

Sean O’Brien

Sean O’Brien, CEO at O’Brien Architects, graduated with his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Huckabee College in 2007 and 2009, respectively. 

During the final year of his undergraduate degree, O’Brien and his wife, also a graduate of Huckabee College, took a class taught by John where they traveled to Marble Falls, Texas, to visit an Acme brick plant. While the majority of his previous classes had been theoretical, O’Brien said this class opened his eyes to the tangible, physical side of his degree. 

And he had John to thank for that revelation.

“During that trip down to Marble Falls, I started to see how friendly he was with all these people, how knowledgeable he was in construction, and just what a down-to-earth person he was,” O’Brien said. “I just got to really connect with him. He was very different in the fact that he could relate to so many people of so many generations.”

Today, O’Brien serves as the president of the DLA, giving him a unique perspective of the college. He said two important concepts Jim and John placed emphasis on as professors were collaboration and humility – it’s more than the architect, the building or the project – it’s about the team. While it may not have been something they explicitly taught in their classrooms, they imparted the lessons with their actions just the same.

These concepts are something O’Brien brings to the table with his leadership at both his company and at the DLA and are a driving force behind his support of the James E. White, AIA and John P. White, AIA Graduate Fellowship.

“There was a moment I realized there were legends all around me, and my job is simply to elevate those people and to shine a light on all the great things they did and be a servant for them,” O’Brien said. “Jim and John are two of those legends. We want to continue on what they have built. They have impacted me greatly. I feel like my purpose in life is really to give back and elevate others. That’s one of the most powerful things we can do.”

Theresa (Bartos) Drewell

Theresa Drewell is special advisor to the vice chancellor for the Office of Facilities Planning & Construction at the Texas Tech University System. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1976. 

Drewell was one of Jim and John’s first students as Jim began his career as a professor in 1971, her freshman year, and John followed two years later in 1973.

However, as she advanced through her career and stayed connected with the brothers, they became like part of her family. They both attended her son’s wedding and could often be found at family gatherings and celebrations.

Additionally, they were all heavily involved with the local chapter of the AIA and the Texas Society of Architects (TxA), and she has countless stories about fun times they had together at conferences, fundraisers, dances and other events.

“Over the last, I guess, 30 years, you can't really separate the three of us because if it has to do with a TxA or AIA conference, you would see the three of us together,” Drewell said with a laugh. “We don't know who's taking care of who. Are they taking care of me or am I taking care of them? They call us the three musketeers because we're usually together.”

As practicing architects and professors, Drewell said Jim and John have the ability to help their colleagues and students understand how components of projects interact with each other. Particularly with students, they excelled at asking questions that made them think more deeply about the process of design and the purpose of the space they were designing. 

She has seen examples of how this intentionality has impacted their decades’ worth of students as she has traveled to various firms and universities across the country for her career.

“They have touched the lives of every student that has gone through the college of architecture in some form or fashion,” Drewell said. “Everywhere I go and at every firm or university I’ve been to, people would find out I’m from Texas Tech and the first thing they would ask me is, ‘Well, how are Jim and John?’ and then they tell me their story, and the stories are inspirational.”

With her personal connection to Jim and John and their steadfast dedication to the Lubbock AIA chapter, she and the chapter readily jumped on board when offered the opportunity to support the fellowship in their honor. Because, just like those graduates Drewell met at other firms and universities, those here in Lubbock have been greatly impacted by the passion of Jim and John White.

“They are the epitome of what an architect should be,” Drewell said. “Their life has been dedicated to the profession, to education, to mentorship and to helping students find and see their potential. I don't think there are any two gentlemen, professionals, true architects that have done as much for the college, its reputation or its students as those two have. The guidance that they've given to all of us through the years is invaluable.”

The Board of Directors of the AIA Lubbock Chapter, on behalf of its members, both past and present, contributed to the fellowship to honor two extraordinary professors who have left an indelible mark on generations of students. 

AIA Lubbock is deeply grateful to Professors James E. White and John P. White for their years of service to the Huckabee College of Architecture and to the architectural profession as a whole. It is their privilege to contribute to their enduring legacy through this fellowship.

“Our commitment recognizes their dedication as educators, mentors, friends and colleagues,” Drewell said. “They have profoundly influenced the lives of countless students who passed through the program, shaping not only their technical skills but also their personal growth and professional futures. Their guidance extended beyond the classroom—they were trusted guardians, compassionate mentors, and, above all, colleagues who demonstrated the highest standards of integrity and excellence.

“It is fitting we honor their legacy, for both professors have contributed immensely to the development of architecture in our community and beyond. This fellowship will serve as a lasting tribute to their passion for teaching and their unwavering commitment to the profession, ensuring that their influence continues to inspire future generations of architects.”

David Pierce

David Pierce, a principal at Parallel and former DLA president, is a 1990 graduate of Huckabee College, but he met Jim and John as a student in his Dallas high school.

He was enrolled in what was essentially a freshman-level architectural course for students who were interested in the field as a career choice. The course was taught by a Texas Tech graduate who invited Jim and John to review the classes’ final projects at the end of the 1984 fall semester.

The brothers were impressed with Pierce’s project and invited him to come tour Texas Tech. While he had been dead set on going to the University of Texas after interning for the dean of their architecture college, his trip to Lubbock completely changed his mind.

Not only was he sold on the West Texas hospitality and the genuine interest Jim and John showed in him as a student, but he also later found out the brothers had taken his dad aside and assured him, “If he comes to Tech, we will keep an eye on this kid.”

This promise was especially meaningful to the parent of a first-generation college student who was sending his son across the state for school.

“They truly did do what they said they were going to do,” Pierce said. “I was a first-generation college student. I didn’t have money to go to college. They pointed me in the right direction for scholarships. They helped me find part-time jobs. Their office was always open. I could talk to them about anything at any time. They took care of me over the course of my time there.”

While Jim and John certainly cared for their students, Pierce, like Huckabee, said the brothers did not mince words in their critiques. When they saw talent, as Hart described, they took the time to nurture it, but they also held those students to higher standards because they knew what they were capable of.

Pierce said their classes were enjoyable because they taught and led through inspiration and suggestion, rather than dictating where you needed to go – which resulted in a wide variety of solutions that came out of their studios. This also meant that those who credit Jim and John as mentors can be found in facets across the industry – historical restoration, real estate, technical design and more. 

For Pierce, the contributions they have made at Texas Tech, to their students and ultimately to the field of architecture is something that simply cannot be forgotten, and the James E. White, AIA and John P. White, AIA Graduate Fellowship is a way to make sure their significance is always remembered.

“The entire focus of their lives was the betterment of young architecture students in the state of Texas, particularly at Texas Tech,” Pierce said. “There are multiple generations of architects in this state that owe their success to the attention that Jim and John paid to them while they were in school. I want to be a part of the legacy they have created. I want to make sure this fund is successful. I don’t know of a Texas Tech where Jim and John aren't there, and I think this is a way that their names are prominently in that building forever.”

Support the Legacy

If you would like to honor the legacy of Jim and John White by supporting the James E. White, AIA and John P. White, AIA Graduate Fellowship, you may do so at give.ttu.edu. As donors continue to contribute the fund, the Huckabees have generously agreed to continue their match, doubling the impact of every gift.