Karen and Charles Matthews, Jr. Forty Acres Scholarship

Charles W. Matthews, Jr., Life Member, BA ’67, and wife Karen Matthews, BS ’68, created this scholarship to give back to their alma mater and to recognize excellence in future generations of UT students.

Charles began work as a trial attorney for Exxon in 1971, one year after he completed law school at the University of Houston. In 1981, Matthews was put in charge of Exxon’s antitrust, tort, and oil and gas litigation as associate general attorney in the company’s litigation department. He also served as general counsel and director of Petroleum Casualty Co. and Exxon Risk Management Services. He became general counsel of the Exxon USA law department in 1992. Three years later, Matthews became vice president and general counsel of Exxon Corps. He was selected to that same post at ExxonMobil when the two companies merged in December 1999. Today, Matthews is the top lawyer at ExxonMobil Corp., the number one oil company in the world, where he is in charge of more than 450 attorneys in 40 countries.

Matthews is on the board of the Center for American and International Law and National Center for State Courts. He has also served as chairman of the Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee and is a member of The President’s Associates. He is currently serving as president-elect of the Texas Exes, where he will begin his term as president of the Association in July 2013. The Texas Exes honored Charles as a 2012 recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award on behalf of The University of Texas at Austin.

Karen began her career as an interior designer. She currently serves on the board of the Children’s Medical Foundation and is a life member of the School of Human Ecology and the College of Fine Arts Advisory Council at The University of Texas at Austin.