Henry Moak Rollins (September 11, 1921 – January 27, 2005)Henry Moak Rollins Sep. 11, 1921 - Jan. 27, 2005
, ''Austin American-Statesman'' (January 30, 2005), p. B4. was a chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas from 1982 to 1983.

Education and career

Born in

Gulfport, Mississippi Gulfport ( ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States, and its co-county seat. It had a population of 72,926 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Mississippi, second-most populous ...

,AAODC Slates Moak Rollins As Speaker Here
, ''The Shreveport Journal'' (March 28, 1966), p. 10-B. Rollins received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

in 1942, and thereafter served as an engineering officer and pilot in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, stationed in Iran and Italy. His military service concluded in 1946, and he thereafter joined the Hughes Tool Company in Houston, Texas, in 1947, remaining until he left in 1951 to serve as a founding member of what would become Drilco Oil Tools. He remained with Drilco until 1967, when it was acquired by

Smith International Smith International was a Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicl ...

. Rollins then left the business world to pursue a master's degree in business administration at

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, followed by a doctorate in finance at the same institution, becoming a member of the faculty in 1973.Rollins keeps PUC power
, ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' (February 27, 1983), p. 1
10
Rollins was a lecturer at the University of Texas until August 1979, when Governor

Bill Clements William Perry Clements Jr. (April 13, 1917 – May 29, 2011) was an American businessman and Republican Party politician who served two nonconsecutive terms as the governor of Texas between 1979 and 1991. His terms bookended the sole ...

, with whom Rollins had become friends years earlier, appointed him to a seat on the Public Utility Commission. Rollins later became chair of the PUC, and in 1983, following the election of Governor Mark White, who had campaigned in part on criticism of the PUC, Rollins found himself the target of criticism for the decisions of the commission. Rollins resigned from the PUC in March 1983, in protest against the rhetoric of Governor White, whom Rollins deemed "unprincipled and dishonest"; the other two members of the PUC having already resigned and been replaced by White, Rollins said that he was resigning in part to ensure that White was "held personally responsible" for the actions of the PUC, which would then be composed only of White's appointees.

Personal life and death

On October 20, 1946, Rollins married Viola Emogene Broaddus, in Houston, Texas,Broaddus-Rollins Engagement
, ''Biloxi Sun Herald'' (October 12, 1946), p. 3. with whom he had three sons. He died in Austin, Texas, at the age of 83.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rollins, Moak 1921 births 2005 deaths Texas A&M University alumni United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II University of Texas at Austin alumni University of Texas at Austin faculty Chairs of the Public Utility Commission of Texas