He received Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance), Master of Professional Accounting, and Doctor of Jurisprudence degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was President of Texas Student Media and Chairman of the Senate of College Councils. During his time at the university he also served as a member of the Task Force on Curriculum Reform and was one of the principal authors of both the report issued by the Task Force and of the Faculty Council motion adopting many of its recommendations. A former Aide to the President and Deputy to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, McDowell is one of the founders of the School of Undergraduate Studies, which created the endowed Cale McDowell Award for Innovation in Undergraduate Studies in his honor. Departments