Never Considered a Gift for Faculty? Here’s Why You Should.

During a visit to an aircraft manufacturing company, Dr. Darren Hartl ’03 ’09 was reminded of a fellow aviation enthusiast from his hometown. Despite her lack of ties to Texas A&M University, he wrote her a letter on a whim, not expecting much to come of it. But that outreach led Dianna Stanger to visit Texas A&M, and eventually, to become the first donor to endow a graduate student fellowship within the Department of Aerospace Engineering.

Since then, Hartl, an associate professor of aerospace engineering who balances roles as a mentor, teacher and researcher, has become a strong advocate for supporting graduate students and faculty through chairs, professorships and fellowships. Working closely with the Texas A&M Foundation, he has seen firsthand how philanthropy can elevate the university and champions faculty support as a way to strengthen the entire academic community.

When donors think about giving, scholarships often come to mind first. How does supporting faculty fit into the picture?

I’ve found that the two primary reasons donors give are to support the next generation of leaders and to improve society. The former is usually done through scholarships, but supporting faculty can actually accomplish both. At a place like Texas A&M, research and education are intertwined — we can’t advance one without the other. Faculty funding, graduate fellowships and undergraduate research grants all end up supporting students, just in different ways.
 

What does faculty support look like in action?

One common misconception is that the money goes to faculty salaries. It doesn’t. Salaries and raises are set by the state and the Board of Regents. Instead, faculty support sends a message: “We believe in you and in the students you teach.” It’s an investment in the professor’s ideas and in the way they execute them. In practice, that might mean giving a professor the freedom to chase a new idea, bringing a talented student onto a research project and funding their education, buying a piece of equipment that opens up a new line of teaching or research, or sending students to a conference so they can see their field at a new scale.
 

For individuals passionate about student success, how do gifts to faculty create impactful experiences for students?

A scholarship may support tuition, rent or other expenses, but a gift for faculty can provide an equally meaningful form of student support. Professors most often use these funds to hire and pay student researchers, giving Aggies the chance to learn directly from them, participate in collaborative projects or engage in programs that foster learning beyond the classroom. Both kinds of giving help shape student outcomes, just in different but complementary ways.