Dawn and Richard Rawson Gift $1M to Bolster Recruiting Scholarship Endowment at University of Houston Bauer College of Business

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The C. T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston has received a $1 million gift to establish an endowment that will allow the college to recruit prospective students competitively at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

“Our goal is to make the Bauer College the destination of first choice for the brightest talent seeking to enhance their business leadership skills and to help provide the resources our students need to accomplish their dreams”

The gift comes from Dawn and Richard Rawson, longtime supporters of the college and the university and respected members of the Houston community. Richard Rawson is a 1972 graduate of Bauer College’s undergraduate program and now serves as president of Insperity, a leading provider of human resources and business performance solutions for America’s best businesses.

“We wanted to make a statement and say that we are very committed to where we see the University of Houston and the Bauer College going forward,” Rawson said. “The more that we became involved and got connected with what was happening at the Bauer College, the more we could see the impact that it was having on this community, and we could see the effects of what a real intense recruiting scholarship program could be for the Bauer College and UH.”

Dean Latha Ramchand launched The Bauer Excellence Initiative campaign in 2012 in an effort to bolster the funds available to extend the college’s recruiting efforts to high achieving applicants in the undergraduate and graduate programs.

“Our goal is to make the Bauer College the destination of first choice for the brightest talent seeking to enhance their business leadership skills and to help provide the resources our students need to accomplish their dreams,” Ramchand said.

The support from the Rawsons is the first step in building the endowment that will sustain The Bauer Excellence Initiative, she added.

“Richard and Dawn’s gift is truly a reason to celebrate,” Ramchand said. “Their generosity and commitment to student success at the Bauer College is unquestioned, and this is an exciting first step in spreading the message of The Bauer Excellence Initiative.”

Thanks to the Rawsons and other donors contributing to the initiative, the college has already awarded 10 graduate and 34 undergraduate recruiting scholarships to a crop of students including high school students in the top five percent of their respective graduating classes and MBA candidates recognized for academic excellence in their undergraduate tenure and now pursuing professional careers.

“We’re hopeful that our contribution will produce great alumni who will produce great donors, and it becomes this ecosystem, returning back into the university,” Dawn Rawson said.

The Rawsons became involved with the university in the early 1990s through the community volunteerism program at Insperity, created by Dawn Rawson. They first contributed to the College of Education with an endowment scholarship and then became involved with the Bauer College as one of 50 entities that funded what was known then as the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, now the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship. That led to Richard Rawson becoming part of the college’s Dean’s Advisory Board in 2008. In November, Rawson helped the college and university to celebrate the grand opening and dedication of University Classroom and Business Building, home to the Insperity Center.

In recognition of the Rawsons’ contribution to the recruiting scholarship campaign, Bauer College will name one of the auditorium classrooms in Melcher Hall, its first building, as the Dawn and Richard Rawson Auditorium during a special celebration event today. The event will be held in the auditorium, previously known as Melcher Hall Room 160, at 12:45 p.m.

“For Dawn and I, giving back is where our hearts are,” Rawson said. “This university and Bauer College put me in a position to be able to help Insperity reach the level of success that it has had. When you have an organization like that and you know the catalyst has been my beginnings at the university, it’s just the right thing to do to give something back.”

“You live in this community, you work in this community, and you’ve prospered from being in this community,” he added. “It’s only right to share what you’ve earned and to give others the opportunity to have that same kind of success.”

“Our mission statement at Insperity is to help businesses succeed so that communities prosper, and in order to have your business succeed, you’ve got to have quality, educated people,” Rawson added.

About the University of Houston

The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research and teaching institution is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 35,000 students.

About the C. T. Bauer College of Business

The C. T. Bauer College of Business has been in operation for more than 60 years at the University of Houston main campus. Through its five academic departments, the college offers a full-range of undergraduate, masters and doctoral degrees in business. The Bauer College is fully accredited by the AACSB International – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. In August 2000, Houston business leader and philanthropist Charles T. (Ted) Bauer endowed the College of Business with a $40 million gift. In recognition of his generosity, the college was renamed the C. T. Bauer College of Business.