Rodney Koenig
The University of Texas Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps Alumni Foundation has selected Norton Rose Fulbright trusts and estates lawyer Rodney Koenig for its Distinguished Alumnus Award. Jointly awarded by the UT NROTC Midshipmans and Alumni foundations, the award is given for outstanding personal achievement or support that credits the UT Naval ROTC.
Koenig is a native of La Grange, Texas, residing in the West University Village within Houston, Texas. Earning a NROTC scholarship, he obtained a BA in government from the University of Texas at Austin in 1962. He served in the Navy as a bridge officer and Chief Engineer during the Vietnam War, then taught at Auburn University for the Navy. In 1969, after attending the UT Law School, Koenig joined Fulbright. Koenig has been with Norton Rose Fulbright for 44 years, practicing in the area of trusts, estates, probate and foundation law. Now retired as a partner, Koenig is of counsel and continues to practice at Norton Rose Fulbright.
His naval career also includes serving as president of the Houston Navy League, commissioner of the Battleship Texas Commission, president of the UT NROTC Alumni Association, committee member of the USS Houston Bell Monument Committee, treasurer of the USS San Jacinto Committee and member of the US Naval Order. After five years of active duty as a Navy line officer, Koenig served as a JAG officer in the Naval Reserve, later retiring as a Captain, JAGC, USN.
Koenig has also created numerous foundations and he serves on a number of charitable and foundation boards, including the Lutheran Foundation of the Southwest, Christ the King Lutheran Church Foundation, the James Dick Foundation at Round Top, the Williams Foundation, the Orton Foundation, the Jackson Foundation, the Midshipman Foundation, the Alice Taylor Gray Foundation, the Luck & Loessin Collection Trust, Texas Lutheran University Corporation, University of Texas Gift Planning Group, the English Speaking Union and others. He particularly loves working with foundations that support scholarships since he was both able to attend UT on a Naval scholarship and law school on the GI Bill.
Koenig is proud of serving as the state President of the German-Texan Heritage Society and was responsible for obtaining its state headquarters in Austin. He was previously awarded the “Order of Merit” by the Federal Republic of Germany. He is a very active board member of Houston’s Main Street Theater, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Houston-Leipzig Sister City Association.
The award was given during the UT NROTC reunion dinner at the Austin Country Club on November 1, 2013.