McCombs School

Mulvas pledge largest cash gift of the Campaign for Texas

January 28, 2014 By Bill Powers

Last week, we celebrated the largest gift of the Campaign for Texas and one of the largest gifts in the 135 year history of the University. Jim and Miriam Mulva, already among the largest donors to The University of Texas at Austin, have pledged $60 million to UT.

The historic gift will support two critical construction projects on the campus: $20 million will support the building of the Engineering Education and Research Center and the Cockrell School of Engineering. And $40 million will support the renovation of the College of Business Administration and Graduate School of Business buildings at the McCombs School of Business.

In recognition of this gift, we are dedicating the James J. and Miriam B. Mulva Conference Center and Auditorium, to be completed in 2017. And at the McCombs School, the CBA/GSB will be renamed James J. and Miriam B. Mulva Hall.

I know you will join me in thanking the Mulva family for this transformative gift. It will be exciting to watch our campus change and grow because of it, and our engineering and business students will be indebted to them for decades to come.

What starts here changes the world.

Photo by John Everett for M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Celebrating a Century of Accounting Excellence

September 7, 2012 By Bill Powers

Tonight the Tower glows to celebrate a century of excellence at UT’s accounting program, the No. 1 ranked accounting program in America for 10 of the last 11 years. I couldn’t be prouder of the faculty and students who, over the decades, have driven this program to the top.

Department chair Lillian Mills and McCombs School dean Tom Gilligan have built on the work of all those who preceded them to make the program a jewel in the University’s crown. Consider these facts:

77 percent of our accounting alumni between 2006-10 went to work for big four accounting firms.
UT’s undergraduate accounting program has been ranked No. 1 seven of the last nine years.
71 percent of UT graduates pass the CPA exam compared to 49 percent of students from all other Texas universities.

You can find more impressive statistics here: http://www.today.mccombs.utexas.edu/2012/04/accounting-turns-100-let-the-celebration-begin

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and academic preeminence isn’t achieved in a day, or a decade. Tonight is a great reminder that it takes perseverance to get top results. As an institution, we take the long view, and it pays off.

UT-trained accountants, wherever you are in the world today, push back from your computer for a moment and raise your Horns. I’m proud of you.

Hook ’em!

Princeton Review: UT business professors No. 1 in nation

November 16, 2011 By Bill Powers

Last month, the Princeton Review released its annual rankings of business schools, and UT’s McCombs School of Business topped the list of 294 universities in the “Best Professors” category.

The report states:

[McCombs] Students love their professors, who are “very accessible and knowledgeable” and “have had practical work experience that makes them that much better.” “Ninety-five percent of the instructors are very engaging, accessible, intelligent, inspiring, and passionate about the material they teach.” This “excellent” faculty is a “good mix of academics with a strong history of research and practitioners who have real-world knowledge,” such as “leading researchers and ex-CEOs.” “Class content is nicely divided up between theory, case, and simulation.” One student says, “It has been more challenging than I could have ever imagined, but after going through this, I know I will be prepared for anything.”

I continue to say — and the media continue to concur — that the UT Austin faculty is outstanding. My thanks to Dean Tom Gilligan for his leadership and to the entire McCombs School faculty and staff for making us proud again.

Hook ’em Horns,

Bill's Signature

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