Jim Crownover ’65
was in the Rice infirmary suffering from the flu when he got a lesson that may have been the most lasting of his undergraduate days. “I remember a professor of chemical engineering, Harry Deans,” said Crownover. “He was young, but he was a bigger-than-life figure, a real terror. A brilliant guy. He came by the infirmary. I will never forget that. He just sat there, and we talked — about school and all sorts of different things. For me, it captured the feeling, which is still here, of the relationships Rice students have with their professors.” That incident motivates Crownover to this day. He feels responsible for preserving Rice as a place where those close relationships can form, because he knows what they’ve meant to him, even as he guides the university through a period of change and growth. “I was smart enough to seek people out,” Crownover said recently as he relaxed with coffee cup in hand in an Allen Center conference room. “Life is a contact sport — you’ve got to seek people out. Talk to them. Find out their views. And I learned that here at Rice because people were so accessible. Even if you didn’t quite know what you were going to learn, you learned something.” My simple, simple life After a career in the contact sport of business consulting, Crownover came back to Rice, where he’s still learning: He’s even taken a couple of undergraduate Spanish classes in recent years.
southwest office, Crownover found himself trying to gain a foothold in an energy industry that, he said, deeply mistrusted outsiders. Thanks to his perseverance and skill, McKinsey survived and thrived in Houston while many competitors failed. “Jim became really important in my life when I persuaded him to go to Texas,” said his former boss, D. Ronald Daniel, who headed McKinsey in the 1970s and 1980s. “The office kind of went sideways until I was able to get Jim there, and then McKinsey in Texas really took off.” You’re lucky! This is a good deal! Crownover was thrilled at the prospect of moving back to Texas, but not his wife, Molly. “When it looked like we were going to move, Molly was tearful,” he recalled. But Crownover had an ally in her parents, native Californians who were stationed in Corpus Christi during World War II. “They said, ‘You’re lucky! This is a good deal!’ They had a tremendous affection for Texas.” It didn’t take long for both Jim and Molly to become well known and respected, in part because of their generous contributions of time and talents to the Houston community. Crownover has served on the boards of the United Way, Houston Grand Opera and many other worthy causes. “The man has a heart bigger than Texas,” said Anna Babin, president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Houston, which named Crownover its Volunteer of the Year — twice. “When Jim
for a Unique Time A member of the Rice Board of Trustees since 1999, he replaced Bill Barnett as chairman in 2005. Recently, he was elected by his fellow trustees to a second term that will run until 2013, which will take him through Rice’s Centennial celebration and complete his service to the board. Crownover characterizes himself as “a very loyal, steady guy.” “I have a wife of 32 years, I have a clothier of 32 years, I worked with McKinsey for 30 years. I went from Rice to Stanford, Stanford to McKinsey and then back to Rice,” he said. “Welcome to my simple, simple life.” Simple? Crownover’s friends would disagree. Armed with an MBA from Stanford (where his daughter, Mary Corwin Crownover, now studies architecture), he joined the global management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. in 1968, eventually rose to its board of directors and also served as co-chairman of McKinsey’s worldwide energy practice. In the early years, charged with running the Houston-based
Crownover speaks, it’s after much thought and consideration, and people listen.” “Jim is able to help people understand the key role we play and establish great relationships,” added Anne Neeson, United Way’s vice president of donor relations. “That’s the basis of his approach to fundraising.” Neeson considers Crownover her mentor. “I have this little card in my desk with something I’ve heard him say often. He says you’ve got to constantly ask yourself, ‘Am I a valued member of a team in pursuit of a noble purpose?’ I think about that a lot.” The Stanford Graduate School of Business also appreciates Crownover’s extensive input and honored him last year with its John W. Gardner Volunteer Leadership Award. “He’s just phenomenal in what he’s done as a volunteer,” said Robert Joss, the school’s dean. “Helpful and selfless — he’s a terrific guy. The last three reunions in a row, his class has set fundraising records. And he’s a real leader of that class.”
Rice Magazine
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No. 3
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2009
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