Advisory board creates endowed scholarship for UHV students
Members of the University of Houston-Victoria President’s Regional Advisory Board have raised more than $31,000 to create a new endowed scholarship as a way to support the university and community.
The PRAB Endowed Scholarship was created by the board to offer financial support to UHV students in need, said Jesse Pisors, UHV vice president for advancement and external relations.
“As the first scholarship fund at UHV to be created and sustained by PRAB, this is a special achievement for the board and reflects its members’ generosity and commitment to higher education,” Pisors said. “The board has given UHV a gift that will help provide an affordable education for students for decades to come. Hopefully, building this endowment will be a commitment embraced by future board members as it has been by its founders.”
PRAB is an advisory body to the university and is made up of Coastal Bend and Houston-area leaders. They meet four times a year to discuss the university’s plans for the future, how UHV and the community can collaborate, and how the university can respond to the education needs of the region.
“The board serves an important purpose in maintaining a positive relationship between UHV and the community,” UHV President Vic Morgan said. “I am proud to see these individuals express their support for the university through this scholarship. Their efforts will have a lasting impact on the university and the community, and I am grateful to them and all those who have contributed to the endowment.”
PRAB members first began discussing the scholarship idea in 2015. By the end of that year, they unanimously voted to create the fund and began raising money, said Sally Aman Barnes, a senior vice president in the Private Banking Department of Prosperity Bank and PRAB chair elect.
The initial goal was to raise $100,000 with the first $25,000 in 1½ to two years. They surpassed that first benchmark within a year, and every current PRAB member, as well as some past members and community members, contributed to the fund, Aman Barnes said.
“We feel that our mission as a board is to promote community awareness and involvement at UHV,” Aman Barnes said. “Getting 100 percent participation in the fundraising effort reinforced that by showing that our members are committed to the role we serve at UHV. We want to help the university and the community continue to grow.”
The scholarship applicants must be full-time students working toward their undergraduate degrees with at least a 2.5 GPA. They must maintain that GPA to continue receiving the scholarship. The award will be based on financial need and is renewable for three years. The money can be used to cover tuition and fees as well as housing, books and other supplies.
The PRAB Endowed Scholarship is an outstanding example of how members of the community can support UHV, Pisors said.
“It sends a strong message that it’s a good idea to invest in UHV,” Pisors said. “Our students go on to be leaders in the community and create economic growth. As UHV continues to grow, we want to increase financial aid opportunities, as well, so the growing number of students we serve will continue to have the support they need to get an education.”
To find out more about the PRAB Endowed Scholarship, contact Pisors at 361-570-4829 or pisorsj@uhv.edu.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
