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Vice President Johnson Receives Honorary Degree from Southwest Texas State College, May 1962
Gordon Wilkison
No Sound on Film | 1962 | B/W | English

Categories:
Lyndon Baines Johnson
1960s
San Marcos
Hays County
Gordon Wilkison
Texas Locations:
San Marcos
Hays County
On May 27, 1962, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson returned to San Marcos, Texas to receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from his alma mater, Southwest Texas State College (now Texas State University). Documented by cameraman Gordon Wilkison, this film contains footage of the ceremony, including clips of the processional, presentation of honorary regalia to the Vice President, and a standing ovation by the audience. College President, Dr. J. Garland Flowers bestowed the degree on Vice President Johnson; it was the first honorary doctorate of Laws ever conferred by Southwest Texas State College. Also included is silent footage of the commencement speech delivered Dr. Harry H. Ransom, Chancellor of the University of Texas, Austin. Lyndon B. Johnson attended Southwest Texas State Teachers College in 1927, and graduated in 1930 with a teaching certificate and a Bachelors of Science in History. He received the first Distinguished Alumnus Award granted by Southwest Texas State College in 1959, and the first doctorate of Laws conferred by the school in 1962.

Gordon Wilkison began work as a cameraman at the local Austin television station KTBC (now FOX 7) during 1952, its first year of operation.  At the time the station was owned by the Texas Broadcasting Company, which was owned by Senator Lyndon B. and Lady Bird Johnson. This relationship would continue to shape Wilkison's career well into the next decades - during the Johnson administration, Wilkison covered the president's visits to Texas, preparing material for national and international news correspondents.    A particularly notable moment in his career occurred on August 1, 1966, when Wilkison and KTBC reporter Neal Spelce risked their lives to capture footage of the Tower shooting at the University of Texas.    Wilkison was also the General Manager of Photo Processors at the LBJ Broadcasting Corporation, which he later took over and renamed Cenetex Film Labs. In addition to his camera work and film processing, his work at the station also included direction of a number of television film productions.   Outside of KTBC, Wilkison shot, edited, and processed Longhorn football game footage for the University of Texas, a partnership that lasted nearly 30 years.       Recognizing the historical value of film and news footage, Wilkison kept the material, later contributing hundreds of reels to the Texas Archive of the Moving Image's collection.

Purchased from a family member in 1951 while Lyndon B. Johnson served in the U.S. Senate, "the ranch," located in Gillespie County in the Texas Hill Country was the Johnsons' family home. The LBJ Ranch made its debut to the American public during Johnson's vice presidency (1961 - 1963) when it was used to host state visits of foreign dignitaries, high-ranking Washington politicians, and campaign functions.  As President (1963 – 1969), Johnson conducted official business at the ranch, including state visits and lawn chair staff meetings, earning it the name, the Texas White House.  On December 2, 1969, the ranch, along with Johnson City and Johnson's birthplace, was authorized as Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Site, and became a United States National Historic Park on December 28, 1980.  Both President and Lady Bird Johnson are buried in the family cemetery within the National Historic Park.