SMU students and faculty members alike walked away with muchmore than a bag of peanuts from Thursday afternoon’s studentsession for the 7th Annual Louise Ballerstedt Raggio EndowedLecture Series in Women’s Studies.
Southwest Airlines co-founder and Executive Chairman HerbKelleher and President Colleen Barrett kicked off the annual eventby joining Louise Ballerstedt Raggio and 20 students in a packedroom for an intimate, round-table discussion full of laughter,story-telling, reflection and reminiscing.
Raggio introduced Kelleher and Barrett as “some of themost famous, successful business people in the entire UnitedStates.”
Drawing from a friendship more than four decades rich, Raggio,Kelleher and Barrett shared stories and wisdom with students andeven poked fun at each other while giving their colleagues’introductions.
“Watch your language,” Kelleher joked when Barrettwas asked to share a few words on the Chairman.
Kelleher and Barrett spoke of the early days of SouthwestAirlines. They entered the airline industry in an era where planetravel was marketed to a mostly male population of businessmentraveling state-to-state.
“We saw a real need in a state as large as Texas to havean intrastate service,” Barrett said. “We wanted toopen the skies of America to the flying public.”
And that is precisely what they did. Kelleher was determined tocreate an airline unlike any other — one that focused oncustomer-service and employee relations, while at the same timeproviding quality service and competitive pricing.
Kelleher and Barrett both repeatedly stressed their emphasis oncustomer-service as part of the core values the airline adheres to,although it was quite a task to convince the two that it wasnecessary to ever formally establish these values.
“We didn’t want to define core values or putanything down on paper because Herb wanted everything to come fromthe heart,” Barrett admitted. “The Golden Rule, Ithink, is a way of life and we want it to be a way of life for thepeople we hire.”
Kelleher and Barrett’s personal visit with SMU studentsand faculty members is a testament to their giving nature andquality of character, as well as the school’s never-endingefforts to provide such incredible opportunities for its students.Those who attended the session became enthralled in their storiesand mesmerized by their ability to sit in such company and betreated as equals.
“It is so amazing to me that two of the most powerfulpeople in the airline industry took the time to come and speak withus on such a personal level,” senior psychology major KatieBibb said.
Kelleher and Barrett provided a true treat for the students whowere lucky enough to attend and made a lasting impression aboutbusiness and customer-service.
“They have a very structured organization, but they run itlike a family. That’s very rare these days,” juniorcultural anthropology and CCPA major Danna Berger said.
And Raggio seems to agree. “Thank God for SouthwestAirlines.”
The event Thursday was the first of three to feature Kelleherand Barrett for the Raggio Endowed Lecture Series.
Launched in 1998, the program brings role models of vision andachievement to SMU. According to Carolyn Sargent, the director ofWomen’s Studies, it is the goal of the event to attractspeakers who “promote women’s issues so that we may allwork towards a greater social justice.”
