USC alumnus Robert McNair increases scholarship program to $30 million
Contributed by USC

Photo by Jim Covington (L- r) Jacque Riley of Riley Communications and a recipient of the McNair scholarship, President Andrew Sorensen, Janice McNair, Robert McNair, and Donna Sorensen.

The University of South Carolina announced business leader Robert McNair of Houston will increase the funding for a prestigious scholarship program that bears his name to $30 million.

The announcement is part of the university's 10th anniversary celebration of the program. In 1998, McNair and his wife, Janice, gave $20 million to establish the McNair Scholars Program, the university's most prestigious and valuable scholarship program for out- of- state students. The Carolina Scholars Program offers similar benefits for instate students.

University President Andrew Sorensen said the original gift has raised the university's academic prestige and visibility throughout the United States.

"The McNair Scholars Program has enabled the university to attract many of the nation's best and brightest students and has spread the word about the many outstanding academic programs offered at the University of South Carolina," Sorensen said.

"The increase in funding for the McNair program will ensure its longevity and success as one of the nation's most attractive and competitive scholarships for academically gifted students," he said.

The first McNair scholars, nine freshmen in all, arrived at Carolina in the fall of 1998. The full- tuition scholarship program has grown steadily to include 20 freshmen from around the country who receive the award each year. The program boasts 94 alumni and 81 students, including this year's entering class, which posted an average SAT score of 1487.

McNair, who earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the university in 1958, said the additional funding for the scholarship is an investment in people and the future.

"Janice and I have participated in, and established, many different programs," he said. "We take pride in investing in programs that support intellect, instead of bricks and mortar. That has been the path that we have chosen. Wea believe that the impact is more long term, and we believe in investing in intellectual capital- scholarships for students and grants for faculty members."

McNair founded Cogen Technologies, which he sold in 1999, and is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of the Houston Texans. The McNairs are widely known for their philanthropic efforts on behalf of the greater Houston area and higher education, including a college scholarship program for students from his hometown of Forest City, N.C. The McNair Foundation was honored as the 2003 Outstanding Philanthropic Foundation.

Jacque Riley is one of the young people who has benefited from the McNairs' gift. Riley, who came to the university in 2001 as a McNair scholar from Gainesville, Fla., said she visited the campus, fell in love with the university's Horseshoe and the university's public-relations program, "but the McNair scholarship sealed the deal. It was life changing for me."

Because the scholarship enabled her to leave college without debts, Riley has been able to open her own public- relations firm, Riley Communications, in Columbia, which is home for her and her husband.

Helping young people fulfill their dreams is at the heart of why McNair founded the scholarship program.

To learn more about the McNair Scholars Program, visit the Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs at www.sc.edu/ofsp.