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Father, Daughter Team up for Health CareAltruism and business insight span generations for Roy and Terry Huffingtonby Denise Bray Hensley 
Roy and Terry Huffington Whether he is discovering natural gas in Indonesia, acting as ambassador to Austria or traveling to Antarctica at age 90, Roy Huffington is at home in his world—a place without borders between countries, cultures, ideas or eras. An oilman and geologist, he moves easily across industries, recalls historic and life-changing events as if they were yesterday and is more than willing to pass on his expertise and assessment of what should happen next. "I like to solve problems," said the soft-spoken Trustee Emeritus for Baylor College of Medicine who actively served on the Board from 1986 until 1999. "It's amazing what medicine is doing in and around the world today," he adds as he smiles across the room at his daughter, Terry Huffington, who has carried his mantle at BCM in recent years. Clearly at the top of his list of achievements is the success and like-minded altruism of his daughter, also a geologist and oil exploration entrepreneur. And, it is an obvious mutual appreciation despite the fact that neither father nor daughter is outwardly doting. "He's pretty incredible," Terry Huffington said in quiet regard for her father at a recent meeting in the downtown offices of Huffco Group, the family business that experienced great glory days after the 1972 discovery of a giant natural gas reserve in Indonesia. Terry Huffington follows her high regard for her father with a laugh at what she calls his obstinacy and stubbornness. When Ms. Huffington expressed concern that her father was favoring his knee after a recent injury, she said, "Of course, he won't let me help him." Later that afternoon, her own independence was reflected in a story Mr. Huffington recounted from his daughter's rock climbing days. "It took my breath away to look at a photograph of a vertical cliff hundreds of feet high with a tiny, black speck on the middle of the cliff. Then, that speck turned out to be my climbing daughter. You can't imagine how helpless that makes you feel when you realize that it's your daughter there." 
Terry and Roy Huffington Both are clearly determined and independent with strong ideas and interests. Luckily for Baylor College of Medicine, among those interests has been the College. "Every day, you see people who are sick and in pain. How could you help but be involved," Mr. Huffington said. Terry Huffington followed her father onto the BCM Board of Trustees in 1999 but will soon conclude her term to concentrate her interests on a project in Steamboat Springs, Colo., with her husband Ralph Dittman, M.D., who is a 1973 graduate of BCM with a specialty in obstetrics and gynecology. "Baylor is a fine institution. I have been proud to have been associated with it and will continue to care about what's going on," Terry Huffington said, adding how much she believes in the vision the Board of Trustees endorsed that includes the new Baylor Clinic and Hospital. "As you're growing up, you don't fully appreciate the benefits of good health care. Then, you are older and see the need for good health care more and more," Terry Huffington said. The Huffington legacy has been intertwined with BCM for decades. Roy Huffington served as honorary co-chair of the Investment in Discovery Campaign, the fundraising campaign just prior to the current Best Minds Best Medicine Campaign. The Roy M. and Phyllis Gough Huffington Center on Aging (HCOA) was established at BCM in 1988 with an endowment funded by Mr. Huffington and his wife Phyllis, who died in 2003. "We will always have an important connection to Baylor College of Medicine through the Huffington Center on Aging. This was a passion of Phyllis' based on the love she had for her mother, and that we want to continue to honor," Mr. Huffington said. Strong will and independence obviously were the call to action for all the Huffingtons, including Phyllis Huffington, whose memory is kept alive in conversations between her husband and daughter. Terry Huffington pointed out that her grandmother, Phyllis Huffington's mother, was a similarly strong-minded personality. Every day, you see people who are sick and in pain. How could you help but be involved." The Huffington family, including son Michael Huffington, a former U.S. Congressman living in California, has supported several BCM initiatives including HCOA, asthma and allergy research, the Michael E. DeBakey Library & Museum and, most recently, stem cell research. The family also has funneled millions of dollars to other Texas Medical Center institutions over the last 50 years to help strengthen the Houston community. "The longevity of a gift is important to me. I like to see it last," Mr. Huffington said. Mr. Huffington is a geologist, who received his Ph.D. from Harvard University at age 24, before serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II for three and one-half years. Subsequently, he worked for Humble Oil, now ExxonMobil, before striking out on his own and making a fortune in Indonesia―where others doubted it would be worthwhile. A major natural gas strike in 1972 led to a 25-year joint venture with the Indonesian government. In 1988, Newsweek magazine said Mr. Huffington was one of 25 Americans "in the forefront of building bridges to the East." His company and influence brought hospitals, vaccinations and schools to Indonesia, Terry Huffington points out. Huffco's international interests were sold to the Chinese Petroleum Corp. in 1990, and Roy Huffington started his career as a diplomat. "The world is an interesting place. I like to fit ideas together, fit people together. It frequently works out," Mr. Huffington said. 
Roy and Phyllis Huffington, 1988 Terry Huffington began her career as a geologist at Chevron, U.S.A., before joining her father's company, where she was Vice President and Director. She has a strong interest in education as well as health care and has been involved on several governing boards―positions she will resign as she spends more and more time in Colorado. "Everything has been so intense for such a long time. It will be nice to focus on one thing for a change," she said. However, that "one thing" is actually several projects to grow organic produce using permaculture methods, a design system for sustainable living and land use that promotes the care of the earth and people, as well as sharing the surplus. She will be using year-round greenhouses to grow organic produce. A second project will establish an organic hay meadow for cultivation. Additionally, she plans to create a forest garden―a forest ecosystem of edible plants. As for her father, Roy Huffington said he plans more travel. "Actually, there are still a couple of places in this world I haven't seen," he said. Mr. Huffington also hopes to continue the genealogical work his wife started. And, he is completing his own autobiography―already at about a thousand pages, he said. "I'm 90 now. To me, 100 years seems to go by pretty fast." |
FeaturesTreatments on the Horizon: Chapter and Verse on a Brain Killer Two Brains are Better than One SpotlightCaring for Community at Home and Abroad Injecting a Little Scientist in Every Doctor Designing a Building in the Eyes of a Researcher Laser Treatments Best Left up to Doctors BriefsFalls in Elderly Indicate Illness Findings may Increase Survival after Injuries Some Like it Hot! Structure of Receptor for Chili Pepper and Pain Revealed Beware of Drinking Margaritas in the Sun Development/AlumniBCM Family Participates in Fundraising Campaign BCM Alums take D.C. Fellowships Seed Funding Leads to Breakthroughs Father, Daughter Team up for Health Care
Steps to Discovery and Innovation
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Volume 4, Issue 2, Summer 2008 |
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