People donate money to colleges and other higher education institutions after graduation for a wide range of different reasons. For some, they want to help their alma mater complete important projects like renovating older facilities or taking advantage of new technologies that have been developed. For others, it’s as simple as acknowledging that the school they went to opened a lot of doors for them in their personal and professional lives, so they want to give back in any way that they can.
For Texas-based oil billionaire Kelcy Warren, he was motivated by all of these things and more. He’s made so secret of the fact that he learned a great number of things that he would never forget during his days at the school. That’s part of what led him to not just recently donate to the school he loves so much, but to make the largest donation in its history – a massive $12 million.
Kelcy Warren and UT Arlington: Breaking Things Down
To be clear, this is not the first time that Kelcy Warren has donated to the school that he graduated from all the way back in the 1970s. Over the last 25 years in particular, it has been estimated that he donated millions of dollars across 10 separate contributions. Having said that, this is by far the biggest he has ever made or that UT Arlington has ever seen – although hopefully it won’t be the last.
The money that Kelcy Warren donated is specifically aimed at the College of Engineering. In part, it will go towards empowering the new “Resource and Energy Engineering” Bachelor’s Degree program, which is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2023. The aim of the program is to offer students across to “life-changing opportunities” for educational and career success, both within the context of REE and elsewhere within the sector.
As someone with decades of experience (and success) in the energy sector, Kelcy Warren understands first-hand how Texas in particular has a major need for highly skilled graduates. The skills gap is very real, and it is only expected to get worse over the next decade or so. The hope is that these advancements at UT Arlington can help successfully educate more graduates who can then go onto manage energy resources in a way that meets demands of companies everywhere. Since the energy sector is one of the major parts of the foundation of the United States’ economy, it’s easy to see why this has become such a top priority for so many people.
As of now, the money donated by Kelcy Warren will go to a number of different areas within UT Arlington. One of the most notable is the fact that it will help create the Kelcy Warren Endowed Professorship in Resource and Energy Engineering. This will help UT Arlington officials find and hire a best-in-class faculty member who will lead the aforementioned new Bachelor’s Degree program.
Along the same lines, it will also help create not one but two new Kelcy Warren Endowed Faculty Fellowships. This will again allow UT Arlington to locate and hire scholars who will dedicate themselves to empowering the REE educational experience for all involved.
Also on the agenda is the support of an innovative new REE-driven laboratory space. Once populated with the right equipment, this lab will allow both faculty members and students to utilize the highest quality resources on a daily basis. They’ll be better equipped than ever to help come up with solutions to some of the most significant problems facing the energy sector today.
The $12 million donation will also create scholarship support for undergraduate students who will be participating in the REE program. Dubbed the Warren Scholars, this money will be used to help as many applicants as possible accomplish their larger educational goals. The money will also help capitalize on new research opportunities that both existing and future undergraduates can explore, giving them the best chance at success in both the energy industry and in many other in-demand fields.
In the end, Kelcy Warren has never been shy about giving back to those that have already given him so much – as his contribution towards UT Arlington goes a long way towards proving. When you consider everything that the school has been able to accomplish up to this point, it’s truly exciting to think about what they can do now that the biggest single donation in their history is on the books.
Learn more about Kelcy Warren here: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/tag/kelcy-warren