Robert McAlister; Clothing Firm Founder

Robert McAlister, 85, founder of the Hang Ten clothing company and benefactor of Harvey Mudd College in Claremont. In addition to running his sportswear firm, McAlister sponsored an international surfing contest in Hawaii and organized car races in California. A native of Weldon, Iowa, McAlister graduated from Grinnell College in that state and served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He and his wife, Barbara, became interested in Harvey Mudd College during its construction near their home in 1955. Their young son, Scott, befriended and ran errands for Charles Conger, who was surveying the campus site. When Scott died at age 11, the McAlisters established a scholarship in his honor at the new college and began their continuing support of its scholarships, professorships, academic departments and facilities. A portion of the school’s Galileo Auditorium is named for McAlister. During the 1970s, he served as chairman of the support group called the Harvey Mudd College Galileo Society. McAlister also established scholarships for Native Americans to attend colleges of their choice. On Saturday in Claremont.