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SAN ANTONIO —Texas A&M University-San Antonio is excited to announce an extraordinary $1 million endowment gift from The Greehey Family Foundation dedicated to the educational support of first-generation students. Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier, president of Texas A&M-San Antonio, noted that the gift is the first endowment and one of the largest individual gifts the University has received to date and serves as a testament to The Greehey Family Foundation’s unwavering commitment to higher education and the San Antonio community.
“Mr. Greehey’s story is incredibly inspiring as he is a first-generation graduate himself. The commitment of his foundation to give others the chance to become the first in their family to earn a degree will have an untold impact for creating a brighter future for these students and their families and for our community,” said Dr. Ferrier. “We are thrilled that The Greehey Family Foundation has chosen to support A&M-San Antonio in our mission of bringing access and affordability to an education of excellence.”
Bill Greehey, president of The Greehey Family Foundation, noted that his foundation was pleased to support Texas A&M University-San Antonio and its efforts to help first-generation college students. “I believe in the power of education and the role it plays in your success. I know first-hand how hard it is for first-generation students to attain a college degree, so our family foundation has created endowed first-generation scholarships at UTSA, Our Lady of the Lake University and Texas Lutheran University. We’re excited to add Texas A&M University-San Antonio to that list.”
The Greehey Family Foundation also gave $25 million to St. Mary’s University – Bill Greehey’s alma mater. Greehey credits St. Mary’s with instilling a deep commitment in him to serve the community and for helping shape his future as a business leader. “Without my college education, I probably would have continued working at the gypsum mill in Fort Dodge, Iowa, where I worked as a teenager,” Greehey said. “I want to help other first-generation students get their college degrees and have the opportunity to live the American Dream like I have.”
About Bill Greehey and The Greehey Family Foundation
Bill Greehey is Chairman of NuStar Energy, one of the largest petroleum pipeline and terminal operators in America. He became Chairman in 2001, and NuStar has achieved significant growth and success since then and today operates in nine countries. Mr. Greehey previously served as Chairman and CEO of Valero Energy from the company’s inception in 1980 until he retired as CEO at the close of 2005 and as Chairman at the close of 2006, when NuStar spun off from Valero. He directed Valero’s growth from a small, regional pipeline company into the largest refining company in North America that ranked No. 15 on the FORTUNE 500 when he retired as Chairman. In 2012, The Harvard Business Review named Mr. Greehey one of the best performing CEOs in the world based on his tenure as CEO of Valero. Mr. Greehey implemented the same culture at NuStar that made Valero successful. Based on his tremendous commitment to employees, Valero consistently ranked among FORTUNE magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For listing, rising to No. 3 in his last year as CEO. NuStar has also ranked on the list every year it has been eligible, reaching No. 26 in 2014.
A nationally renowned philanthropist, Mr. Greehey has made community service a core value at the companies he has led. Following his leadership by example, NuStar employees give millions of dollars and tens-of-thousands of volunteer hours to charitable and civic causes each year. Mr. Greehey established The Greehey Family Foundation in 2004, and it has given well over $100 million in grants to worthy charitable causes. This includes a $25 million grant to the University of Texas Health Science Center to fund research and treatment for children’s cancer.
Mr. Greehey also founded and serves as Chairman of the Board for Haven for Hope, an innovative facility that is widely regarded as a national model for transforming and saving the lives of the homeless by providing a wide range of social services in a “one-stop” setting. In its first three-and-a-half years of operation, over 1,400 individuals graduated from Haven for Hope, moving from homelessness to independent and productive living.
About Texas A&M University-San Antonio
Currently enrolling close to 4,500 students, Texas A&M University-San Antonio is the fastest-growing university in the state for the third year in a row. With a nearly 700-acre Main Campus to expand into, the military-embracing university will open the doors on two new buildings for fall 2014. Undergraduate and graduate degrees are available for the lowest university tuition in San Antonio for a variety of in-demand fields, including teacher preparation, business, information technology, and cyber security. Texas A&M-San Antonio’s mission is to prepare and empower students to be innovative and contributing members of a global society.
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