Bill Shute’s involvement with UT didn’t end with his graduation in 1984. After finishing his law degree at the University of Houston, he went on to spend his professional career working in federal policy, including stints as the executive director for federal relations at SBC Telecommunications and at the government relations firm R. Duffy Wall & Associates. But in 2001 he returned to UT — this time at the UT System level — as the system’s vice chancellor for federal relations, a position he held until 2019. Shute’s now at UT Austin’s Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, where he’s the LBJ Washington Center’s executive director and teaches graduate courses on public policy and policymaking.
On the importance of Shakespeare:
For the past 23 years I have had the pleasure of engaging with and mentoring Longhorn alumni and students. I tell each one that every good thing that has happened to me as an adult started with my decision to attend UT.
One of my favorite experiences was meeting my future wife in Parlin Hall while taking Jim Ayres’s Shakespeare class. In lieu of a written final, Jim offered us the chance to join a group of other classmates and perform a scene from one of the classic plays. Of course, I volunteered in a heartbeat.
A girl named Zelda — the only one who had read our assigned play — handed out the roles in Act 3, scene 2 of King Lear. None the wiser, I agreed to play “mad” Prince Edgar (only learning later that he runs around naked in the rain pretending to be a poor beggar) while our fearless leader gave herself the role of Lear’s servant, Kent (with no more than six words, by the way). After our performance one of the other actors hosted a cast party, which turned out to be nothing more than a blind date for Zelda and me; a blind date that has led to 38 years of marriage.
Fast forward to the early 2000s when Larry Faulkner was president of UT and I had recently become vice chancellor for federal relations with the UT System. Larry approached me during a Board of Regents meeting and asked why he had been told he needed to host Zelda and me at Winedale that coming summer. I replied that I wasn’t sure, but someone in his office must have heard me tell our Shakespeare origin story. He graciously offered to find a date when the three of us could make the trip.
On the day of the performance, Larry picked us up at our hotel and drove us to the theater in Fayette County. Lo and behold, the students were performing King Lear that weekend. It was a thrill to catch up with Jim Ayres, but the highlight occurred during intermission. The program had pop-up tents outside, selling lemonade, memorabilia, and Shakespeare-related goods to raise funds. As Zelda and I perused one of the tents, the volunteer asked if we were familiar with Winedale. “Indeed we are” was our reply, and we mentioned that we had met in Jim’s class while performing a scene from King Lear.
“You’re the couple!!” she exclaimed much too loudly. Apparently Larry had been spreading our story around the area. Still my favorite UT President of all time…