Solutions Magazine, Summer 2006 - Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas

Bob Allen, BCM Board of Trustees Chair, in front of the Margaret M. Alkek Building for Biomedical Research

Bob Allen has been building Baylor College of Medicine for a long time. The summer before he started college in 1946, he was a teenaged carpenter's helper working on the construction of the College's first building in its new Houston location.

Six decades later, he sits in that same building, talking about his new role as chair of the BCM board of trustees. A trustee for the past 25 years, he'll oversee the College during a period of great expansion, with new buildings, new programs and a bold strategy of pursuing excellence in all areas.

"That summer, I knew I was working on the Cullen Building and I knew it was going to have something to do with medicine. But, that was about all that I knew," said Allen.

Today, he knows where Baylor College of Medicine wants to go, and he plans to help steer it in that direction.

Robert H. Allen was born in 1928 in Oklahoma City. His father was a railroad man and he spent a good part of his childhood moving around. As he was entering high school, the Allens settled in the Houston Heights.

It was wartime and there weren't a lot of men around to coach physical education classes, so students were pretty much on their own. Describing himself as a "loner" after a lifetime of being the new kid in class, he spent solitary time running on the school track. One day, the track coach spotted him and a star athlete was born.

Though he admits the idea of being on the cross country team was more about noticing that "the boys with letter sweaters were doing really well with the girls," he was a natural in both track and basketball.

The high school experience led to many college offers, but he knew the place for him was Rice University. And it was, until a week before classes started and he learned athletes participating in two sports at Rice had to major in physical education, no exceptions.

A life-changing experience happened just weeks after he started college making him realize that it was academics more than athletics that he wanted to pursue. Allen was drafted and sent to Japan to help secure the worn-torn country.

"I guess the word is 'mature.' At least more mature," said Allen. "I left as a boy and returned as a young man. When I first got out of high school, I thought I was a hot-shot athlete. But I pulled a lot of duty and learned a lot. When I went back to college, athletics was not nearly as high on my list of things that I wanted to get done."

He participated in track, cross country and basketball at A&M, and he finished his coursework in three years. The first one in his family "to see the inside of a college," Allen earned a degree in business and accounting and landed a job at a CPA firm in Houston.

Over the years, Allen built his success as a businessman. He was instrumental in the start-up of several natural resources companies, including Getty Resources, Ltd. He retired as chair and CEO from Gulf Resources and Chemical Corporation in 1982 after 25 years. He is now the managing partner of Challenge Investment Partners, a diversified natural resources investment partnership. He served on the board of regents for the Texas A&M University System and has been active in the leadership of many community groups. He was a member of several corporate boards of directors including Federal Express, The University of Texas Investment Management Company, and Gulf Indonesia Resources Ltd. Allen served as chairman of the board for the latter two companies.

Construction of the Cullen Building after World War 2

Allen literally helped build the Cullen Building in 1946. For the past 25 years, he has helped to build Baylor through his service on the board of trustees, which he now leads as its chair.

With such a long history at Baylor, Allen has seen many changes—at Baylor, in the Texas Medical Center, and in the field of medicine.

For him, leading the board is steering a ship that already has set the proper course and has the right crew on board to make sure it stays that way. He is grateful to the outgoing leadership of Corbin J. Robertson, Jr., BCM board of trustees chair since 2001. Robertson, who was named to the board in 1983, will continue to serve BCM on its board.

"We have a strategic plan. We know where we want this institution to be five, 10 and 15 years from now," said Allen. "The decisions we make are all geared to accomplish that purpose. The only thing we can be absolutely sure about is that the future is going to be different than we think it will be, and we're going to have to be ready to respond to change and, at the same time, not lose sight of the long-term objective—the pursuit of excellence in everything we do."

Building Baylor

Patient Care

Research

Education

Community Service

Alumni & Development

College News

Volume 2, Issue 2, Summer 2006


	Building Baylor by Lori Williams Bob Allen, BCM Board of Trustees Chair, in front of the Margaret M. Alkek Building for Biomedical Research Bob Allen has been building Baylor College of Medicine for a long time. The summer before he started college in 1946, he was a teenaged carpenter's helper working on the construction of the College's first building in its new Houston location. Six decades later, he sits in that same building, talking about his new role as chair of the BCM board of trustees. A trustee for the past 25 years, he'll oversee the College during a period of great expansion, with new buildings, new programs and a bold strategy of pursuing excellence in all areas. "That summer, I knew I was working on the Cullen Building and I knew it was going to have something to do with medicine. But, that was about all that I knew," said Allen. Today, he knows where Baylor College of Medicine wants to go, and he plans to help steer it in that direction. Robert H. Allen was born in 1928 in Oklahoma City. His father was a railroad man and he spent a good part of his childhood moving around. As he was entering high school, the Allens settled in the Houston Heights. It was wartime and there weren't a lot of men around to coach physical education classes, so students were pretty much on their own. Describing himself as a "loner" after a lifetime of being the new kid in class, he spent solitary time running on the school track. One day, the track coach spotted him and a star athlete was born. Though he admits the idea of being on the cross country team was more about noticing that "the boys with letter sweaters were doing really well with the girls," he was a natural in both track and basketball. The high school experience led to many college offers, but he knew the place for him was Rice University. And it was, until a week before classes started and he learned athletes participating in two sports at Rice had to major in physical education, no exceptions. He made it to Texas A&M University before the start of classes. A life-changing experience happened just weeks after he started college making him realize that it was academics more than athletics that he wanted to pursue. Allen was drafted and sent to Japan to help secure the worn-torn country. "I guess the word is 'mature.' At least more mature," said Allen. "I left as a boy and returned as a young man. When I first got out of high school, I thought I was a hot-shot athlete. But I pulled a lot of duty and learned a lot. When I went back to college, athletics was not nearly as high on my list of things that I wanted to get done." He participated in track, cross country and basketball at A&M, and he finished his coursework in three years. The first one in his family "to see the inside of a college," Allen earned a degree in business and accounting and landed a job at a CPA firm in Houston. Over the years, Allen built his success as a businessman. He was instrumental in the start-up of several natural resources companies, including Getty Resources, Ltd. He retired as chair and CEO from Gulf Resources and Chemical Corporation in 1982 after 25 years. He is now the managing partner of Challenge Investment Partners, a diversified natural resources investment partnership. He served on the board of regents for the Texas A&M University System and has been active in the leadership of many community groups. He was a member of several corporate boards of directors including Federal Express, The University of Texas Investment Management Company, and Gulf Indonesia Resources Ltd. Allen served as chairman of the board for the latter two companies. Allen literally helped build the Cullen Building in 1946. For the past 25 years, he has helped to build Baylor through his service on the board of trustees, which he now leads as its chair. With such a long history at Baylor, Allen has seen many changes—at Baylor, in the Texas Medical Center, and in the field of medicine. For him, leading the board is steering a ship that already has set the proper course and has the right crew on board to make sure it stays that way. He is grateful to the outgoing leadership of Corbin J. Robertson, Jr., BCM board of trustees chair since 2001. Robertson, who was named to the board in 1983, will continue to serve BCM on its board. "We have a strategic plan. We know where we want this institution to be five, 10 and 15 years from now," said Allen. "The decisions we make are all geared to accomplish that purpose. The only thing we can be absolutely sure about is that the future is going to be different than we think it will be, and we're going to have to be ready to respond to change and, at the same time, not lose sight of the long-term objective—the pursuit of excellence in everything we do."		Search all issues: Patient Care People, Protocols and Promise An Infectious Enthusiasm Canvas for Creativity Research Seeing the Invisible Trekking Into New Territory: Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine Closing the Gap Between Lab and Clinic Education Tulane's Journey Back to New Orleans Community Service PUSHing for a Skate Park Alumni & Development Making Sense of Antisense Million Dollar Treatment Artist, M.D. Moving a Medical School College News A TEN-dency Toward Excellence Building Baylor Seamless Science

	Volume 2, Issue 2, Summer 2006



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