Donor Salute
Jerry Calvert '62 and his wife, Jan, of Brenham found endowing a scholarship at Texas A&M University a good experience.
The $25,000 endowed scholarship will support students pursuing a degree in the Bush School of Government and Public Service. The first scholarship is expected to be awarded in the fall of 2007.
Calvert said he and his wife had been planning to donate in some fashion to the university where he received his MBA, but they hadn't decided how or where.
"This was a timely situation for us. The dean of the Bush School, Dick Chilcoat, gave a presentation at our Rotary Club in Brenham, and he expounded on values I like," Calvert said. "The Bush School promotes ideals I believe in."
The Bush School mission is to educate principled leaders in public and international affairs, conduct research, and perform service.
Jerome Rektorik, director of development at the Bush School, recalled getting Calvert's phone call last year.
"He said he heard the dean speak, and he'd like to do something," Rektorik said. "This was easy for everyone."
Calvert said this was a good time for him and his wife to make a direct gift to Texas A&M. The two are raising Longhorn cattle in Washington County while continuing to work in real estate across Texas. Their three adult children have successful careers in cities ranging from Denver to Austin. Jerry is president of the Brenham Rotary Club.
"Jerome came to talk to us, and a scholarship to the Bush School sounded really good; this fit our budget," Calvert said. "It would have been really nice if I'd had a scholarship when I was in school."
Calvert paid his own way through Sam Houston State University to earn a degree in physics. He worked through graduate school at Texas A&M, too. He remembered living in a duplex south of the campus with three other students.
"We paid $45 a month in rent back then," Calvert said.
After completing his education, Calvert worked in computers with the Shell Oil Company for three years and at Texas Instruments for 13 years.
He had began investing in Texas real estate, which became a full-time pursuit, accumulating apartments, boat storage units, mini warehouses and mobile home parks. Jan carved her own niche in the field of petrochemical design, expanding into 3-D computer graphics, primarily doing contract work for engineering firms for companies like Brown and Root.
Calvert noted today scholarships seem to be more plentiful than when he was in school, but he recognized how important one scholarship can be to one student.
Rektorik added the Bush School sees the importance of scholarships for its students and the value of donors like the Calverts.
"You don't have to give a million dollars to make a difference in students' lives," Rektorik said.
