Historic $20 Million Gift
to Austin College Strengthens Scholarships & Access
In May 2023, Austin College announced the largest single gift in the College’s history, a $20 million bequest from the estate of Clifford J. Grum of Lufkin, Texas. The bequest will fund full-tuition scholarships for eligible students, beginning in 2024-2025.
Grum’s gift comes on the eve of the college’s 175th academic year. Founded in 1849 as a Presbyterian college on the Texas frontier, today Austin College is building strategically for the future while celebrating its heritage as the oldest college in Texas operating under its original charter. “In this time of rising costs, the bequest adds to Austin College’s robust gift-aid program and reflects our unwavering commitment to remove financial barriers for a college education,” said President Steven P. O’Day, J.D., L.H.D. “The gift bolsters the College’s resources to support young people preparing for careers and service in a changing world.”
The $20 million bequest adds to the roster of philanthropic gifts that make it possible for 100 percent of the College’s 1,280 students to receive gift aid through grants or scholarships. The generous support enables students to thrive while pursuing careers from data analytics to teaching, law to health care.
Building a Legacy
Clifford J. Grum grew up in San Antonio and graduated from Austin College in 1956. He earned a master’s degree from Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and embarked on a successful business career that took him from East Texas to New York, where he worked as publisher of Fortune Magazine and executive vice president of Time Inc. before returning home to Lufkin, Texas.
Grum was a longtime member of the Austin College Board of Trustees, serving from 1981 to 2001. He stayed closely connected to the College even as a Senior Trustee. Those at Austin College who worked with Grum recalled that he preferred little fanfare for his gifts. His name was not attached to any project until after his death in 2016, when his widow, Mary K. Grum, provided the gift to renovate the sanctuary of the campus’s Wynne Chapel and named it in his honor. With this new $20 million gift, Grum’s legacy is now cemented in the college’s history.
President O’Day and the chairholders of each academic department present endowed merit-based scholarships to students at the college’s annual Honors Convocation.
President O’Day and the chairholders of each academic department present endowed merit-based scholarships to students at the college’s annual Honors Convocation.
“The College is profoundly grateful for Clifford’s remarkable generosity. His foresight and commitment exemplify the unparalleled power of philanthropy to create transformative opportunities for Austin College students, today and for generations to come,” said Gillian Locke, Vice President for Institutional Advancement.
Bequests such as this one, says Locke, are essential to building the College’s pool of scholarship money at a time when colleges and universities across the country face headwinds in recruiting. Austin College has invested years of development work in building meaningful personal connections with its alumni base and other supporters. The result is a culture of philanthropy that is focused on access for students from all backgrounds.
Opening Doors for Talented Students
National liberal arts institutions like Austin College deal with misperceptions of affordability and diminished value of a college degree. According to Baylee Kowert, Vice President of Institutional Enrollment, many students have sticker-shock when it comes to the price of higher education before taking into account the much lower amount they will actually pay once gift aid is factored in. “Because most students who graduate from Austin College finish in four years, compared to a national average closer to six, it can actually end up costing the student less for their undergraduate degree at Austin College,” said Kowert.
Increasing scholarship availability opens doors for many families with limited resources for college. One outcome is increased enrollment of first-generation students at Austin College, currently representing 24 percent of the student body. “Our aim is to make Austin College accessible to students of the highest potential,” said President O’Day. “We want to create a wide, wide canvas for many kinds of students to thrive as they prepare for successful careers and lives of service.”
Junior Josue Gonzalez received an endowed scholarship for Outstanding Student in Business and Economics, presented by Dr. Ashley Tharayil, Chair of the Economics & Business Administration Department.
Junior Josue Gonzalez received an endowed scholarship for Outstanding Student in Business and Economics, presented by Dr. Ashley Tharayil, Chair of the Economics & Business Administration Department.
Josue Gonzalez is one of those gifted first-generation students who has flourished. Thanks to scholarship support, he’s navigated an array of available opportunities that would have been out of reach—and excelled along the way. He was named Outstanding Freshman Student his first year, plays varsity soccer, and is a Posey Leadership Institute Fellow. The Posey scholarships, endowed by Sally and the late Lee Posey of Dallas, can be applied to any semester’s tuition. Josue chose to use his to travel abroad during January Term 2023. “My Posey Leadership Scholarship allowed me to study in Argentina,” he said. “I learned so much, and met new people that I continue to keep in touch with.” For his upcoming senior year, Josue was awarded the Thomas Edgar and Kathryn Heard Craig Fellowship for an Outstanding Student in Business and Economics. The endowed merit award will carry him through his senior year. Josue plans to pursue a master’s degree in accounting after graduating in 2024.
Gift aid is also important for those with more financial means; for many students, merit awards can tip the balance on a college decision. Merit-based Academic Honors scholarships attract high-achieving students who want the chance to have a meaningful residential college experience where life-long bonds are formed in a strong academic environment, says President O’Day. “We know that students could choose larger schools, but they are considering us because we align with their goal of a complete college experience in and beyond the classroom.”
Whether need-based or merit-based, gift-aid remains a top priority for Austin College to fulfill its mission as a college that changes lives. “Austin College transforms students so they can transform the world,” President O’Day likes to say. Gifts like Clifford Grum’s historic bequest help the College do just that.
Students congregate outside the college’s IDEA Center, a LEED Gold Certified building housing classrooms, laboratories, and study spaces — and surrounded by a native prairie ecosystem “Living Laboratory.”
Students congregate outside the college’s IDEA Center, a LEED Gold Certified building housing classrooms, laboratories, and study spaces — and surrounded by a native prairie ecosystem “Living Laboratory.”
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