H.E.B. Gift Largest Corporate Donation to UTB/TSC

H.E.B. Food Stores, which has deep roots in the Rio Grande Valley, made an investment in its future this spring with a generous $100,000 endowment grant to the University of Texas at Brownsville's School of Education.

The grant, which will be used to endow a fund for student scholarships, was made in celebration of the opening of the Valley's newest and largest H.E.B. store,  in Brownsville, last March.

H.E.B. Food Stores, with $7 billion in annual sales, got its start in 1905 with one small store in the Texas Hill Country. Still owned and operated by the H.E. Butt family, the store had its headquarters for a time in Harlingen, and made its first major expansion in the Rio Grande Valley.

Dr. Sylvia Pena, dean of the School of Education, said the gift will go a long way toward providing qualified teachers for the Valley.

"The problem is that so many of our students have to work and they take six or seven years to graduate," said Dean Pena. "We would like to offer substantial scholarships so that students don't have to work so many hours and can graduate in four or five years. There is such a great need (for teachers in the Valley.)"

The grant means more than dollars and cents, she added.  "It is very important that the company has singled out the value of teacher preparation. I think it sends a strong message to students wanting to become teachers, and to the community about how corporations are partnering with the university in providing educational opportunities."

Dr. Juliet V. Garcia noted that the HEB grant is the largest corporate donation the university has received, and a first scholarship endowment for the School of Education.

HEB CEO Charles Butts "understands the value of  the border," Dr. Garcia said. "He understands the value of human capital on the border, or he simply would not have made this commitment to our university this soon. It represents an extremely important milestone for us."