Gift of $20 million will go to UT business honors program
Phil Canfield and his wife, Mary Beth, are donating $20 million to the business honors program at the University of Texas — the program that launched his investment career. In honor of that gift, the program at the McCombs School of Business will be renamed the Canfield business honors program, UT announced Friday.
The donation will provide full-tuition scholarships, expand academic offerings, improve student recruitment and lift the program’s reputation, officials said. Of the $20 million, $5 million has been paid and the Canfields have pledged to pay the rest within seven years, a McCombs School spokeswoman said.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t been in that program,” said Canfield, who is a managing director at GTCR LLC, a private equity firm in Chicago. “It launched what’s been a really fun and successful investment career, and, in many ways, I feel like it’s a dividend back to the school for the investment that the school made in me back then.”
Canfield, a 1989 graduate, said a visit to the campus three years ago as the parent of a prospective business honors student was a tipping point in the decision to make the donation. He said he realized that the program, which he thought was great when he attended, is now “100 percent better.” The visit also made him want to elevate the program’s national reputation.
Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20181130/gift-of-20-million-will-go-to-ut-business-honors-program
