UT-Austin Raises $1 Billion for Student Support

The University of Texas tower on July 16, 2020.Photo byAllie Goulding/The Texas Tribune

The Texas University announced the largest philanthropic campaign this week. It reached a sum of $1 billion to provide backing to the students of Texas.

This achievement makes UT-Austin the first public university in the state and the second in the nation to receive an endowment of more than $1 billion specifically to support undergraduate and graduate students, administrators said in a news release.

The amount is part of a $6 billion fundraising goal, making it the third-largest campaign among US public universities.

President Jay Hartzell talked about their ambition to make the most influential university to provide aid to the students.

UT-Austin launched its "What Starts Here" campaign in 2016. The campaign aims to boost university research by attracting top talent and providing financial support to students, raising at least $3.3 billion from 2016 to 2022.

The university officials declared openly they would increase their campaign goal to $6 billion and spend one-sixth of that directly on student support. Two years after launching its campaign, UT-Austin has raised $4.8 billion to date.

The university benefits from a large alumni base of more than 570,000 former students, according to the alumni group Texas Exes.

291,000 UT-Austin donors have given funds to help nearly 39,000 students in 2016 as reported by UT-Austin officials.

This includes 9,600 students served through UT for Me, a partnership between the school and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.

The UT for Me program provides additional support to low-income students who qualify for federal financial aid.

As the cost of living in the Austin area has risen, financial aid and additional support have become more important to students in recent years.

In recent years, donors have played a critical role in providing emergency assistance to students, according to the university.