Abilene Christian University has a distinguished legacy of alumni who have been elected to serve in state and national office, and other careers in public service. Travis Clardy (’84) is trying to be the next.

Clardy is in a Republican primary runoff election July 31 to determine the next person to serve the 11th District in the Texas House of Representatives. The former ACU basketball standout is an attorney in Nacogdoches, and he and his wife, Judy (Kniffen ’85), have four children. He serves on the Executive Board of the East Texas Boy Scouts and ACU’s Alumni Advisory Board. Judy was an all-America tennis player at ACU.
Other ACU graduates and former students who have been elected to national or state office include:

• U.S. House of Representatives: Bernie Sisk – California, Omar Burleson – Texas, Ted Poe (’70) – Texas, Janice Hahn (’75) – California
• Texas Senate: Ed Howard, Mike Richards (’59), Dee Travis (’73)
• Texas House of Representatives: Layton Black, Bob Griggs (’71), Danny Hill, Jim McReynolds (’65), Larry Vick (’65), Dr. Gary Thompson (’60), Dr. Robert D. Hunter (’52)
• Arkansas House of Representatives: Lane Jean (’82)
• California Senate: Jack Scott (’54)
• California State Assembly: Jack Scott (’54)

Burleson served the longest (1947-78) of any former ACU student in the U.S. House. Sisk was a U.S. House member from 1955-79.
Col. Pete Stiglich, who retired after 26 years in the military and earned a master’s degree in organizational and human resource development degree from ACU in 1988, recently ran for California’s District 1 Congressional seat in the U.S. House, but lost in a June 6 primary election.