Outstanding Alums' gifts push college toward $30 million target in Lead by Example campaign

With two gifts from College of Architecture Development Advisory Council members this month, the college passed the two-thirds mark toward its $30 million goal in Texas A&M University’s “Lead by Example” campaign.

The $5 billion comprehensive campaign launched November 2015 is one of the boldest comprehensive campaigns in the history of public higher education and the largest fundraising endeavor ever undertaken in Texas.

Recent commitments from Harold Adams ’61 and Bill Peel ’74, each an Outstanding Alumnus of the College of Architecture, brought the college’s campaign total to $20,225,289.  Adams’ gift will support enhancements to the presentation room in Building A of the Langford Architecture Center. Peel’s commitment through a planned gift will be for discretionary use by the college.

“Each of these two gifts is special in its own way,” said Jorge Vanegas, dean of the college. “Harold’s gift builds on his previous contributions of endowed professorships in each of the college’s four departments to promote collaboration between our disciplines. The Janice and Harold Adams ’61 Presentation Room will be a true collaboration center that will facilitate transdisciplinary work across the college and the university.”

The William Peel Excellence Fund, being established through Peel’s estate, will provide future benefit to the college. “The Peel Fund will be important to a future dean,” said Vanegas. “It will be applied to the most critical challenge to the college at the time it is received.”

Future gifts like this, called “planned gifts,” make up $4.5 million, or nearly one-fourth of the college’s current campaign success, said Larry Zuber, vice president for development with the Texas A&M Foundation, and will be important to the successful completion of the College of Architecture’s $30 million goal.

“Whether it is a provision in a will or trust, or a gift of insurance or property,” Zuber said, “such planned gifts provide the best opportunity for many of our former students to make the greatest difference for future generations of Aggies in the College of Architecture.”

And while the university’s and college’s respective campaign goals of $4 billion and $30 million are large numbers, Zuber emphasized the emphasis is not on numbers, but on impact.

“It’s the difference even a $1,000 scholarship has on a student’s ability to study in Italy, or buy an Aggie Ring or spend more time in studio instead of working a second job,” he said. “It’s about donors making a difference in the way they care about most.”

For more information on participating in the Lead by Example Campaign can contact Zuber at lzuber@txamfoundation.com .  Additional assistance on creating an estate gift plan can be found at the Texas A&M Foundation web site [http://tamugift.org/] (http://tamugift.org/) .

Larry Zuber
lzuber@txamfoundation.com