For the past 50 years, the University of Houston-Victoria has been part of the Victoria community. During that time, the university has had the opportunity to partner with many organizations and leave a lasting impact on the communities we serve, both in the Crossroads and in the Greater Houston area. But our reach would have been greatly limited were it not for all those individuals, organizations and nonprofits that chose to invest in the university and support higher education in our region.

Since UHV’s transition from a UH teaching site to its own freestanding university in 1983 until fall 2022, the university has received nearly $31 million in donations from more than 8,000 donors. Those donations came from all levels including large companies, nonprofit organizations, individuals, alumni, faculty, staff and even current students. Many of the donors gave multiple times, showing their ongoing commitment to promoting higher education in their communities.

Donations to UHV and its students come from a diverse set of organizations and individuals, and the areas those donations support are just as wide-ranging and serve many different needs. Donors have given to support everything from purchasing equipment for specific programs to funding scholarships and even creating special funds to support students dealing with emergencies.

Since 2008, when UHV first began accepting freshmen and sophomores, more than 21,000 students have received more than $34 million in scholarships. Many of those scholarships are funded by donations, including from individuals who wished to honor their loved ones by creating scholarship endowments. UHV currently has 46 scholarships named for individuals. All of these names and many more are special to UHV because these are families who chose to make higher education and helping others part of their family legacy. By doing so, they have in turn invested in UHV’s legacy of excellence in education. This is what it means to be part of the UHV family, and we are proud to be part of your families’ legacies.

UHV also has several other scholarships that are funded through companies, corporations and nonprofit organizations, such as the Victoria Sunrise Rotary Scholarship Endowment or the M.G. & Lillie A. Johnson Nursing Scholarship Endowment. In many cases, these endowments support scholarships that focus on specific interests. For example, the Del Papa Distributing Endowed Scholarship focuses on students majoring in business or marketing who also participate in community service.

Scholarships are just one aspect of how UHV and its students have benefited from donations in the past. In recent years, the university has also received a large amount of support from nonprofits, corporations and individuals as part of the university’s expansion. In fact, as the university’s campus grew and our programs expanded to new areas, the generosity of our donors grew as well. As new buildings were built and new academic programs were created, the community continued to show their support by donating to UHV in a number of ways. Whether it was naming donations for new facilities, grants to help build out new laboratories, pledging support for new community-focused efforts or even donations to honor a former UHV supporter with an on-campus garden, you have continually come through, and your donations have made a lasting impact on the campus and on the students.

Even in times of crisis, when people in our own community were already struggling, our donors continued to give to benefit our students, and your support has meant all the difference. After Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas Gulf Coast in 2017, when so many of our students were impacted through damage to their homes or property that could affect their ability to continue their education, several organizations and individuals stepped up to offer resources through the UHV Relief Fund. The fund offered small grants to students to replace lost or damaged items. Many of the donors were people who had their own losses during the hurricane. Later, UHV was able to take the experience gained from using these relief funds to create other resources for students, including the Student Emergency Fund, which was used during the COVID-19 pandemic.

No matter who makes the donation, UHV always strives to be respectful of donors’ intentions for their contribution. Honoring the donor’s desire to benefit a certain group of students or give toward a specific program or goal is part of how UHV builds trust with our community. Each of these donors gave to UHV with a specific goal in mind, and we always want to be trustworthy with that investment and the desire of those donors. Money donated to UHV has a lasting impact because that investment will touch the lives of students for years to come, and each of those students will go on to impact the lives of others through what they learn at UHV. Donating to UHV has created a positive cycle that will improve our communities for generations to come.

All of these donations and many more are part of what makes UHV what it is today. We cannot thank you enough for everything you have given, whether it was a $1.5 million grant for new lab equipment or $2 on Giving Tuesday. Every gift has an impact on the university and its students. Thank you for choosing to invest in us and in the future of our community.