As the 43rd governor of Texas, and the fourth Baylor graduate to serve in that state office, Mark White ushered in education reforms that still impact schools, including limits on elementary class size, the “no pass, no play” policy for high school athletes, and the first-ever statewide testing standards.
For White, age 77, who died at his Houston home on August 5, 2017, those accomplishments were the highlights of a political career guided by a principle taken from Sam Houston: “Do right and risk the consequences.”
In a lengthy interview with the Houston Chronicle just days before his death, White lamented how partisan politics have become in recent years, in both Austin and Washington. White said that can make it much harder to accomplish goals that benefit all Texans.
Mark’s funeral filled the vast church sanctuary with an amazing bipartisan gathering of hundreds of friends. “Look who he has brought together,” Pastor Ed Young said at one point, “What else, who else, would bring us together?”
The education reforms championed by White, who served as governor from 1983-1987, were not universally lauded. The “no pass, no play” rule, which required students to maintain passing grades to play sports, was politically unpopular in a state where high school football is revered. More recently, he has had athletes thank him and credit him for their college education and professional careers in many fields.
White also called for a $4 billion tax increase to pay for teacher raises and class size limits. The tax hike was partly blamed for scuttling his bid for re-election.
Still, White, the son of a school teacher, had no regrets.
“He instilled the important things in life,” said his son Andrew. “He was clear about that. God comes first, country comes second, then family. I saw him live that out in his life, in his work and calling.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Baylor University in 1962, he went on to earn a law degree from Baylor Law School in 1965.
White “was always someone who would tackle tough issues, even if it was not in his best political interests. He stood up for what he thought was right,” said John Whitmire, D-Houston. “He was not afraid to do the right thing and suffer the consequences.”
After White left office in 1987, he returned to private law practice in Houston, and was involved in later years in touting technology to make prison perimeter fences escape-proof and detect heartbeats inside truck trailers, a system that he said could help thwart human smuggling across the Texas-Mexico border.
White also served as chairman of the Houston Independent School District Foundation, a non-profit organization which supports the district. His wife, Linda Gale, has been a longtime leader of Communities in Schools, a stay-in-schools program Mark brought to Texas.
In 2014, an elementary school in west Houston was named after Mark White. It was a fitting tribute.
Mark was a leader in Bears for Leadership Reform, a group of Baylor alumni with the courage to seek to restore what Baylor has lost in recent years. He challenged the message being sent to Baylor students, alumni and the eyes of the world today. Mark believed it is time we come together and are again “Baylor University First” in the quality of our leadership, our spirit, our standards and practices. He often referred to a favorite quote:
“If you mess up, fess up.”
In his down time, White loved to hunt and take his sailboat out on Lake Travis, said his son, Andrew. He took each of his nine grandchildren on a trip to Washington, D.C., complete with a personal tour of the White House and the Capitol.
“The guy wrote the book on honor and decency,” said longtime friend Barry Silverman. “If I had a million dollars in a suitcase and put it under Mark White’s bed, it would still be there a year later.”
As a permanent tribute to Mark White, the Baylor School of Law has established a fund for the Mark White Chair for Public Service and Public Interest. A fundraising event is scheduled for June 21st in Houston, Texas.
