Winston E. Wolfe
Baylor Legacy Award
Awarded to individuals who demonstrate extraordinary service and philanthropy to Baylor or to causes that fit our mission as a Christian university.
Founder of Olympic Optical, a global leader in the design and production of sunglasses, Memphis native Winston Wolfe, Class of ’64, built a successful career developing innovative products and cultivating niche markets. Retired since 2005 when he sold his company, Wolfe now devotes his time to a variety of philanthropic and civic pursuits.
Wolfe found himself at Baylor due to his athletic ability, the appeal of Texas and a chance meeting with a Baylor student at a Memphis-area church function. The discussion prompted Wolf to pursue track and field at Baylor, where he studied psychology and business. Decades later, his daughter Stephanie, BS ’89, would also become a Baylor Bear.
Upon his return to Memphis after Baylor, Wolfe gained business experience through a bank’s management training program that led to a job with Great Southern Corp., an importer of general merchandise. There, Wolfe discovered his passion for the sunglasses product line he was assigned to manage. His cultivation of that passion would lead to lucrative business.
Wolfe launched Olympic Optical in 1976, importing sunglasses from Italy and Taiwan then selling them to distributors. As the product line expanded to include safety eyewear and hearing protection, he became immersed in product design, for which he holds nine patents. Eventually, with 30 employees and licensed brand names, such as Smith and Wesson and Remington, Olympic Optical merchandise appeared on the shelves of major retailers, including Wal-Mart and Bass Pro Shops.
Sharing his success with Baylor, Wolfe has supported a variety of campus initiatives, including the new Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium that opened in 2014. His support provided a 6,000-square-foot team facility containing the Winston Wolfe Clubhouse for the track and field program. A consistent supporter of the track program for decades, Wolfe previously provided for a number of improvements, including the clubhouse and the track entrance at the former facility, the Hart-Patterson Track and Field Complex.
He also has endowed and supported entrepreneurship and athletic scholarships and The Winston Wolfe Distinguished Entrepreneur in Residence. He has received the Huckins Medallion from the University and has served on the Hankamer School of Business Board of Advisors. He is a member of the Old Main Society and the Endowed Scholarship Society, among other Baylor activities. Wolfe’s daughter, Stephanie, BS ’89, is a Baylor Bear as well.