Angelo State University Dedicates Housley Tower

SAN ANGELO, TX - Angelo State University hosted a ribbon cutting to dedicate the new Housley Tower with ASU and Texas Tech University System officials and members of the Housley Family in attendance. 

It happened today, April 29, at the Housley Tower, located near the center of the ASU campus. The tower stands between the Stephens Chapel and S. Johnson Street, to be exact. 

According to information from the university, the tower is named in honor of the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Robert “Bob” Housley. 

It stands 65 feet tall and covers 215 square feet. The exterior and roof match the brick and stone construction and metal roof of the Stephens Chapel. 

The Housley Tower’s electronic bell system is programmed with 7,800 available songs in multiple bell voices, including the ASU fight song. It also features 25 customizable “tolling bells” and eight clock chimes.  

Information states that the tower will sound chimes daily at 8 a.m., 11:48 a.m., and 5 p.m. 

The 11:48 a.m. chimes signify the signing of the legislation creating ASU as a four-year, state-supported institution on May 17, 1963. 

Additionally, color-changing LED lights are installed under the roof eaves, inside the belfry, and at the ceiling of the first level, as well as grounded-mounted at the base. 

The first lighting of the tower will take place during the spring commencement ceremonies on May 10-11. 

“The Housley Tower is the new iconic structure of the campus,” ASU President Ronnie Hawkins Jr said. “Bob Housley believed in the same commitment to excellence and the community that we strive to uphold at Angelo State, and the Housley Tower stands as our joint symbol of those values. The groundbreaking for the tower was my first as president of Angelo State, and it’s exciting to see and hear the concept become reality. This is definitely a proud day for the entire Ram Family.”

The tower was funded by a “generous gift” from Mona Housley in memory of her late husband, Bob Housley, founder of Housley Communications. It was said that Bob had a long-standing dream of putting a bell tower on the ASU campus. 

Designed by KFW Architects Inc. of San Angelo, the Housley Tower was constructed by Mid-Tex of Midland Inc., with the engineering phases completed by Austin-based Leap! Structures and Lubbock-based Chambers Engineering.

A native of Carlisle, Ark., Bob Housley earned his pilot's license at the age of 17 and then served in the National Guard, including during the 1957 Integration Crisis at Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., where he aided in the protection of the first integrated students in the U.S.

He married the former Mona Saunders in 1958 and later took a job with Texas International Aviation, eventually leading to his family's move to San Angelo in 1976.

On Oct. 1, 1980, Housley launched Housley Communications, which is based on the principles of honesty, integrity, quality, and professionalism.

"His innovative nature, passion for customer satisfaction, and personal relationships with his employees were instrumental in establishing Housley Communications as an industry leader in providing construction and technical services to many major telecommunications companies in the U.S. and beyond, including Mexico and Africa," the university stated. "In addition to his business success, Housley cared deeply for the community. He was an active supporter of various organizations, including the Lighthouse for the Blind and West Texas Rehabilitation Center, and he served on the Board of Trustees for the ASU Foundation and First Financial Bank for many years."

Housley's son, Kevin, who worked alongside his father as executive vice president of Housley Communications, developed the Housley Principled Leadership Program that has been adapted into the management curriculum in ASU's Norris-Vincent College of Business.