Ronald W. Crocker ’85 and Patricia A. Shepherd ’86 from Houston have made a provision in their estate that will establish the Ronnie Crocker ’85 Endowed Scholarship, which will support a first-generation student who is a graduate of a Texas high school. The scholarship will give preference to a recipient who is studying anthropology, English, communication and journalism, economics, global languages and culture, history, philosophy, psychological and brain sciences, or sociology.
Crocker, who earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Texas A&M, worked for The Battalion and was a member of Squadron 8 and the Fish Drill Team in the Corps of Cadets. He remained involved at Texas A&M, serving as a member of the university’s External Communications Advisory Board.
After graduation, Crocker worked professionally at many newspapers, including the Bryan-College Station Eagle and the Newport News Daily Press in Virginia. He was the deputy business editor for the Houston Chronicle from 1994 to 2018 before stepping into the role of editor at the Beaumont Enterprise, which he held until 2021. He also was a lecturer at Rice University from 2001 to 2009 and authored the book, “Houston Beer: A Heady History of Brewing in the Bayou City,” published in 2012.
Shepherd earned a degree in speech communications and went on to work as an administrator in Houston Independent School District.
The couple’s planned gift will also establish the Patricia Shepherd ’86 Endowed Scholarship, which will support a student studying at the Texas A&M Maritime Academy at Texas A&M at Galveston and provide funds to the university’s Sgt. Betty C. LeMay Endowed Opportunity Award Scholarship.