A Texas Christian University alumna is donating $40 million to the school’s College of Science & Engineering, the university announced Wednesday.
The gift comes from Louise Dilworth Davis of San Antonio, who graduated in 1977. Her son and daughter-in-law are also alums.
The college, TCU’s second largest which serves about 2,500 students per year, will be renamed the Louise Dilworth Davis College of Science & Engineering.
“It gives me immense joy to support TCU’s next chapter of growth and serving students,” Davis said in a press release. “Together, we are shaping an exciting future for TCU and enhancing research excellence for students, faculty and staff.”
Davis has ties to ranching and oil and gas, according to the release. Records show Davis owns rights to 43 mineral interests across three Texas counties. Mineral interests grant property owners the authority to extract resources from below their land, including oil, natural gas and coal.
Davis said she celebrates Pullin’s leadership, the university’s strategic plan and the College of Science & Engineering’s strategic priorities.
One of the major initiatives of the private university’s strategic plan is to increase research activity, with the specific goal of obtaining R1 status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, recognition signaling the highest level of research activity.
The university must diversify sources of research funding as government agencies like the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy have their budgets slashed, according to a TCU News article.
Chancellor Daniel Pullin, who was inaugurated Nov. 6 as part of the school’s Values in Action Week, said in the release that the donation will help produce more values-driven graduates.
“The impact of Mrs. Davis’s generosity supports Horned Frogs today and for generations to come,” Pullin said. “Her inspired gift is a legacy that will power real change in the world as well as TCU’s community and ambitious strategic plan.”
McKinnon Rice is the higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at mckinnon.rice@fortworthreport.org.
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