Because they touch the lives of whole generations of students, capital and endowment gifts have a permanent effect on Austin College. The current endowment of more than $100-million is the result of over a century and a half of generous gifts from alumni and friends.
For more information about establishing an endowment or contributing to the College’s capital programs or existing endowment, please call 903.813.2194.
Facilities and Capital Needs
Capital gifts support the construction, renovation, landscaping and maintenance of Austin College’s physical campus. Donors who designate their gift to capital are not only providing a roof over the heads of Austin College students, faculty and staff, but creating the classrooms, laboratories, study spaces, residence halls, computer labs and office space, necessary for the College to function.
Capital gifts also provide unique naming opportunities for a building or a room within a building to honor, memorialize, or enhance the legacy of special people. Current naming opportunities are available in the IDEA Center, Austin College’s new 103,000-square-foot science center.
Endowment Opportunities
Alumni and friends who make endowment commitments help pave the way for needs of Austin College for years to come. Gifts for endowment affect every function of the College, from the establishment and growth of permanent funds for scholarships, chairs, and professorships, to academic programs and other areas.
- Establishing an endowed scholarship involves a minimum gift of $50,000.
- Establishing an endowed professorship involves a minimum gift of $1 million.
- Establishing an endowed chair involves a minimum gift of $1.5 to $3 million.
Centers of Excellence
An interdisciplinary approach to learning is increasingly important to prepare students for the complex world of work and graduate study. This focus is intensified and strengthened through the College’s Centers of Excellence. In these programs, students and faculty engage in problem solving through courses spanning the disciplines, as well as through service and interaction with the larger world. Establishing a center of excellence involves a minimum gift of $1 million. Gifts also may be made to the College’s current centers:
The Center for Global Learning enhances on-campus and study abroad educational opportunities with increased emphasis on cultural awareness and encourages participation in off-campus international experiences.
Posey Leadership Institute provides opportunities for students and faculty to work together across the boundaries of traditional fields of scholarship. Posey Leadership Institute faculty train and educate students in leadership theory and its practical application in the community.
Center for Environmental Studies serves as a catalyst for innovation both on campus and in the Texoma region. Students work on environmental issues and implement their work through projects such as prairie restoration, research on the aquatic ecology of Lake Texoma, community-wide recycling, and other activities.
Center for Southwestern & Mexican Studies allows students to examine cross-cultural relationships in arts, culture, and history and their practical applications to the worlds of business, economic development, and politics. Courses and symposia provide theoretical and practical opportunities for students to examine complex relationships between the United States, particularly the southwestern region, and Mexico.
