A generous donation from Cactus Feeders Inc., a company dedicated to food production efficiency research, established the Norman Borlaug Endowed Research Scholars Program. The program will help recruit and retain top students from all over the world to conduct agricultural research at Texas A&M. Scholars will glean from the exemplary legacy of Norman Borlaug and be challenged to identify agricultural innovations that can actively protect the environment, improve human health, grow the economy and feed the world. Cactus Feeders provided a $1 million matching fund to encourage other donors to support the students and vision of the program through scholarships and fellowships.

Former students and other leaders from the College of Architecture’s Development Advisory Council successfully created and funded a new leadership initiative and associated minor degree. James Thompson ’68 funded an endowed professorship, while Tom Owens ’73 funded multiple scholarships in support of the new degree, known as the Leadership in the Construction and Design Professions minor. The overarching leadership initiative seeks to expand support for the minor and provide more multidisciplinary opportunities for students, particularly those with an interest in the unique qualities of creative teams.

Throughout the Lead by Example campaign, The Association of Former Students engaged 138,233 Aggies in support of Texas A&M University, surpassing campaign financial goals ahead of schedule and raising $125.4 million through July 2020. While the dollars are impactful, even more significant is the number of Aggies who made gifts to The Association in support of scholarships and academic programs, traditions and student activities, and former student initiatives. This broad support illustrates the loyalty of the Aggie Network and energizes The Association in closing out the campaign by engaging 100,000 donors in 2020 alone. In supporting The Association through gifts of any amount, every Aggie has the opportunity to make a difference for Texas A&M. Achieving this bold goal will further The Association’s impact and grow long-term philanthropic support for the university, which will ultimately advance Texas A&M’s national stature and influence on our world.  

Gifts totaling $6.25 million from the Charles Koch Foundation and Texas A&M University System Regent Robert Albritton ’71 established the Albritton Center for Grand Strategy at the Bush School of Government and Public Service. The new center serves as an intellectual hub for the critical examination of U.S. foreign policy at a time of flux in international politics. The center supports research on America’s grand strategic choices; fosters dialogue between scholars and practitioners; and helps engage a new generation of public servants who will be grand strategic innovators. The center will also give Bush School graduate students with a special interest in grand strategy opportunities to interact with notable speakers and scholars affiliated with the center.

The George & Barbara Bush Foundation is dedicated to preserving the legacies of President and Mrs. Bush by supporting the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum and The Bush School of Government and Public Service. As one of four of Texas A&M’s affiliated fundraising entities, the organization has raised nearly $28 million for the Lead by Example campaign through contributions from more than 26,000 donors.

Generations of future Aggie geologists will have the opportunity to attend Field Camp, thanks to a $3 million gift from Jane ’76 and Bill R. Thomas ’75 that endowed the camp and ensured its longevity. As part of the College of Geosciences’ comprehensive field-based education program, Field Camp allows geology and geophysics students to solidify their understanding of basic and complex geological concepts during three-week summer excursions to states such as Montana, Utah and New Mexico. Through various field and mapping exercises, Aggies gain real-world insight into the scale and scope of geology and the character and complexities of rocks in the natural environment.

Distinguished former student Jon Hagler ’58 committed $20 million to the now named Hagler Institute for Advanced Study. Hagler’s transformative gift established the institute as a permanent part of Texas A&M, forever enhancing its academic quality. The institute brings world-class scholars to campus for up to 12 months to collaborate on career-changing research with outstanding Texas A&M faculty and students. Eleven of the institute’s 70 fellows have since joined the university’s faculty and, as a result, have attracted additional national academy members to campus. These additions of excellence have drastically enhanced the international reputations of key academic units, helping to ensure the finest education for Aggie students.

The School of Law joined the Texas A&M family in 2013 and has skyrocketed in rank and reputation in the time since—recently jumping an unprecedented 23 points to a No. 60 ranking in the U.S. News & World Report’s listing of the nation’s top law schools. Given the school’s relative youth and small number of Aggie graduates, some of its most significant campaign gifts have come from non-law graduates. Two recent gifts are exemplary: $250,000 commitments from Jon Hagler ’58 and Avi and Debra Naider. Hagler’s gift created the Hagler Law Symposium Fund, which will be used to host policy-oriented conversations on critical social and economic challenges facing our state and the nation. Avi Naider, a Princeton University graduate and long-time friend to Bobby Ahdieh, dean of the law school, created a scholarship endowment in Ahdieh’s honor that will support law students who offer extraordinary service or support to a classmate or participate in one of the school’s 10 community legal service clinics.

A $1 million gift from Susanne and Melbern Glasscock ’59, longtime supporters of the College of Liberal Arts, created a director’s chair for the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research. The gift was matched with $1 million from the Texas A&M President’s Office. In 2002, the Glasscocks gave a large donation to name the institute, a world-leading humanities hub that awards grants and fellowships for humanities research and sponsors lecture series and other events. The couple’s most recent gift supports the center’s new director, Dr. Emily Brady, a humanities expert who formerly taught at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Brady’s unique leadership will guide the center as it focuses on new initiatives, such as Humanities: Land Sea Space, which addresses urgent environmental concerns, and Global Health and the Humanities, which explores global health issues.

In 2013, Susan ’74 and Bill Ouren '74 set out to preserve Aggie history at Cushing Memorial Library and Archives by establishing two gifts. Their $150,000 cash gift funded startup equipment, furnishings and supplies necessary for the Libraries’ new Preservation Unit, while their $3 million planned gift created the William and Susan Ouren Preservation Librarian Endowment. After their lifetimes, this endowment will fund a preservation librarian position and support preservation efforts for the many rare and fragile items in Cushing’s collections. The Ourens’ combined gifts will make a lasting impact on Cushing and the students and researchers who utilize its preserved history.

Initially founded in 1994 by Peggy and Lowry Mays ’57, the Mays Family Foundation generously gives to causes and communities that have impacted its founders. In 2017, the organization gave a $25 million gift to Mays Business School, the largest single commitment in the school’s history. The gift supports several areas of innovation and established the Lowry Mays Entrepreneurial Leadership Academy in the McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship, which is focused on attracting entrepreneurial students to Mays and supporting their success. In addition, $15 million is earmarked toward the proposed building expansion of the school’s Business Education Complex. The expanded, upgraded facility will include new active learning classrooms, state-of-the-art digital and telecommunication technologies, and work areas to promote connectivity, creativity and collaboration. With this commitment, the Mays Family Foundation has now given more than $47 million to Texas A&M, including an original $15 million commitment in 1996 to name Mays Business School.

In an effort to create a diverse group of much-needed pharmacists who can address medical needs in underserved areas in Texas, Aimee ’93 and John Mohr ’94 supported the Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy at Texas A&M with an endowed gift to provide scholarships for first-year, out-of-state students earning a degree in the college. Their gift will alleviate students’ financial burdens so they can focus on their studies and experiences at Texas A&M. The Mohrs, who now live in Massachusetts, chose to help out-of-state students so they can experience the wide array of beliefs and cultures that come with living in a different state and create lasting relationships.  

The Texas A&M School of Public Health is devoted to revolutionizing health through interdisciplinary inquiry, innovative solutions and a commitment to create Aggie leaders through the tradition of service. During the campaign, the school has prioritized funding and awarding scholarships to attract the best and brightest students to Texas A&M. The school has raised $445,000 to create 12 new scholarships for deserving students. These scholarships help expose students to a variety of industries and provide opportunities to grow professionally.

Thanks to more than 30 donors, the College of Science achieved its goal to raise $2.7 million to permanently endow the Science Leadership Scholars program. Established in 2016, the program provides an average of $2,000 in annual support to first-generation students from low-income families in the College of Science. Scholars attend weekly meetings with mentors and participate in academic workshops that help them acclimate to college. Participants are twice as likely to graduate in four years with a STEM degree when compared to students from similar backgrounds who do not participate. Now in its fourth year, the program has served 71 Aggies, including two who completed their degrees in December 2019 as the program’s first graduates and an additional 10 graduates in May 2020.

A generous $100,000 gift from Sarah ’84 and Mark Philpy ’77 sponsored a new book series from Texas A&M University Press called the “Texas Experience.” The series reflects the land-grant mission of Texas A&M to serve the people of Texas, from scholars to general readers, with topics that reflect the broad interests of a big state. The couple’s gift already underwrote two books published in 2019: “Photographing Texas: The Swartz Brothers, 1880–1918” by Richard Selcer and “In the Shadow of the Chinatis: A History of Pinto Canyon in the Big Bend” by David Keller. Sarah has served as a member of the Press’ Advancement Board since 2011. The couple’s gift will continue to support the publishing of more high-caliber books in the series.

In support of advanced veterinary research, Linda and Dennis Clark ’68 gave a $1 million gift to fund two faculty chairs in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. The faculty chairholders, Dr. Ashlee Watts (pictured in maroon) and Dr. Brian Saunders ’98, are undertaking research in support of the college’s translational medicine priority, which focuses on translating novel treatments in veterinary medicine to the human realm. Saunders is a small animal orthopedic surgeon who runs canine comparative orthopedics and cellular therapeutics laboratories. His team focuses on the development of bone and cartilage tissue engineering solutions and how these solutions can also be applied to humans. Funds from the gift are also supporting Watts, an equine orthopedic surgeon, and her team as they refine the miRNA-29a dose for tendon injury in horses that they developed in 2017. The therapy heals tendon injury faster and better than previous techniques and is undergoing FDA approval. If approved, it will be the first miRNA replacement therapy in the world.

During the campaign, former students and friends of Texas A&M contributed more than $229 million in private donations toward the redevelopment of Kyle Field and more than $18 million to the construction of Davis Diamond and E.B. Cushing Stadium. These new facilities are some of the nation’s finest collegiate athletic venues. With a seating capacity of 102,733, Kyle Field is now the largest college football stadium in the Southeastern Conference and the fourth largest in the nation. Replacing the Frank G. Anderson Complex built in 1985, E.B. Cushing Stadium is the new home of Texas A&M’s track and field teams and seats 3,000 fans. It also features a new nine-lane track and press box as well as meeting, training and locker rooms. Davis Diamond, the new venue for Aggie softball, seats 2,000 fans and includes club level and luxury suites as well as a new press box and TV booth.