Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Gerald McElvy ('75)
For more than 30 years, Gerald W. McElvy (’75) has used his financial expertise to move up the ranks within ExxonMobil and the Esso Companies. Today, he is proud to serve the ExxonMobil Corporation as Deputy Manager and President of the ExxonMobil Foundation, which serves in a philanthropic role for the company.

McElvy hopes that his two sons, Brandon and Bryan, will become Cougars as well, as the University of Houston has had a profound impact on his life. He serves on the Dean’s Executive Advisory Council for the Bauer College of Business, received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the Bauer College, and was honored to serve as the keynote speaker for a Bauer College commencement. He has also been honored by the University of Houston’s Black Alumni Association and is a founding member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity chapter on campus.

The Honorable Martha Wong (M.Ed. '76, Ed.D. '83)
If there were ever a perfect union, it is Dr. Martha Wong’s desire to connect her native Houstonians with the University of Houston, where she received her Masters and Doctorate degrees in Education. At UH, Wong chaired the Asian American Studies Program Advisory Board, currently serves on several advisory boards, and was honored as a Distinguished Alumna by the College of Education.

As a Chinese American, Wong is the first Asian American female to be elected to the Texas House of Representatives, representing District 134 from 2003 to 2006. Wong is well-known as an outgoing community ambassador, and such energy also produced victorious elections to the Houston City Council in 1993, 1995, and 1997. Wong is widely recognized throughout the State of Texas and the City of Houston as an outstanding public servant, and the University of Houston is proud to call her one of our own.

Distinguished Service Award Recipients

Margaret Bock
Margaret Bock and the University of Houston are inextricably bound. When she attended UH in the 1950s, she was extremely active on campus. She was a member of Beta Chi sorority (the forerunner of Chi Omega), as well as being involved in Frontier Fiesta and attending all sporting events. It is these good memories that keep her coming back to campus all of these years later.

Margaret started her volunteer work with the Houston Alumni Organization in the 1980s and still tirelessly serves today. She has hand-addressed and stuffed many an invitation and continues to serve wherever willing hands are needed.  In addition to her work with HAO, she has served on and chaired numerous committees and has a special place in her heart for UH students.  Currently, she is the office director of the Delphian Office as well as the trustee of the Houston Assembly of Delphian Chapters Scholarship Foundation Fund, and the liaison to UH for the foundation. The foundation has given scholarships to UH students for over 75 years and mentors the students to ensure that they graduate.

Sonny Messiah-Jiles ('74)
Sonny Messiah-Jiles says that a monumental turning point in her life occurred when she discovered that the University of Houston gave her “a sense of independence and an ability to juggle responsibilities.” That sense of independence and ability to juggle has led her to an impressive career as publisher and owner of the Houston Defender news publication, Houston’s leading black newspaper. She was the first African-American woman to serve on the Greater Houston Partnership board and was honored by Ebony Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans.

Messiah-Jiles served as the chair of the Houston Alumni Organization from 2002 to 2003 and was chairperson of the National Newspaper Publishers Association from 2003 to 2005. She has definitely put what she has learned in her career into practice as she continues to assist other organizations in meeting their lofty goals.

HAO Chair’s Award Recipients

Jim McIngvale
Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale founded Gallery Furniture in 1981 and quickly turned it in to the second largest single-location furniture store in the United States. Affectionately known as “Mattress Mack” to scores of Houstonians, he is also well-known for his philanthropic contributions to the community, donating furniture to area schools, the poor, and victims of natural disasters.

McIngvale has a long-standing connection to the University of Houston and is thrilled that his daughters Elizabeth and Laura are now Cougars. In 2002, he co-authored Always Think Big with the C. T. Bauer College of Business’ Thomas Duening John Ivancevich. McIngvale has also sponsored numerous UH functions and has served on the Board of Advisors for Bauer College’s Program for Excellence in Selling.

Bill Moffit
Dr. Bill Moffit, former director of the University of Houston Marching Band & Cougar Brass, is known by our community for his musical passion. He is credited for taking the marching band’s storied military-style marching past into its present-day marching style. Today, Dr. Moffit has pioneered and patented his Patterns of Motions, for which the high-energy, high-stepping Cougar marching band, The Spirit of Houston, is now known.

As a faculty member at the University of Houston, Dr. Moffit was nationally renowned as a music arranger. Bands from across the Unite

d States play music from his Soundpower series, and his legacy lives on today. So revered is Dr. Bill Moffit that the Band Alumni Association and the Moores School of Music have worked to create the William C. Moffit Chair, an endowed professorship in his honor.

Outstanding Volunteer Award

Cynthia Oliver Coleman ('71)
Empowering others seems to be the most appropriate mantra attributed to Cynthia Oliver Coleman, the first African-American woman to graduate from the University of Houston’s Chemical Engineering program. Her professional and personal efforts from her graduation day in 1971 until today have focused on inspiring other minorities to achieve their dreams. Coleman had an impressive thirty-three year career at ExxonMobil before retiring in 2004.

A licensed professional engineer, Coleman continues to serve her community through her involvement with countless service organizations and the Houston Alumni Organization, Engineering Alumni Association, and Black Alumni Association. Her influence spans far and wide, from the UH Petroleum Engineering Advisory Board to UH women’s engineering programs, to solidifying funding from ExxonMobil in the form of grants for the university. Coleman’s dedication and commitment has empowered many others, including her daughter Kelly, to attend the University of Houston and continue a well-established legacy.