The Texas A&M Foundation anticipates about 1,500 students, donors, family and friends will gather at Reed Arena today for the 50th anniversary celebration of the President's Endowed Scholarship. A separate convocation during the morning's events will welcome 271 new inductees into the PES program.
According to Robert "Bob" Walker, a 1958 A&M graduate who retired from his position as senior executive for development in Texas A&M's Office of the President in 2014, the PES program was designed to attract National Merit Scholars, valedictorians and salutatorians to Texas A&M.
"The challenge to build an entirely new scholarship program at my alma mater was tremendously exciting," said Walker, who was hired in 1968. "Without a doubt, the President's Endowed Scholarship had the greatest impact on the university's ability to recruit and retain academically superior students who are pursued by other top universities, more so than any other program we've had at Texas A&M."
Students are selected to receive a PES during their senior year of high school based on their scholastic and extracurricular records. Students competing for a PES must have earned a combined SAT math and SAT critical reading score of at least 1360 (620 or higher in the math portion and 660 or higher in the evidence-based reading and writing portion), or a composite ACT score of at least 30 with a score of at least 27 in the math and English portions.
The program was founded by five endowments given by Leslie L. Appelt '41, Ford D. Albritton Jr. '43, John H. Lindsey '44, Royce E. Wisenbaker '39 and Walter C. McGee Jr. '31. It began with 20 scholarships that awarded students $1,000 annually.
Jim Palincsar, senior vice president for development, called the PES "really one of the most important merit scholarship programs at Texas A&M."
"Over the years, it's been instrumental in helping us recruit National Merit Scholars," Palincsar said. "It's a very competitive scholarship, and is one that really recognizes academic achievement. In many ways, we use it to recruit scholars similar to the way athletic programs recruit athletes," he explained.
The endowment for the program has grown to $89.1 million. During the past 50 years, income from these endowments has supported more than 7,000 undergraduate students at A&M.
"The President's Endowed Scholarship program has proved highly successful and has grown to 1,079 scholarships today," said Tyson Voelkel, president of the Texas A&M Foundation. "This anniversary celebration provides us with an opportunity to unite donors and students and reflect on the program's past five decades of bringing the brightest minds to study at Texas A&M. Many PES scholars have gone on to make significant impacts in their communities and in our state, nation and world."
Junior Tate Banks said he loved A&M when he visited as a high school student but couldn't have seriously considered becoming an Aggie and taking on out-of-state tuition fees without first receiving a PES.
"The day I found out I had received a PES, everything changed," said Banks, a computer science major from Duncan, Oklahoma, "Receiving a scholarship of this magnitude has been an incredible blessing in my college education. The PES program definitely sends a message that the university prioritizes and rewards being a good student."
Banks said the PES helps him be able to focus on pursuing his bachelor's degree from the College of Engineering while enjoying Texas A&M's one-of-a-kind student experience. He strongly encourages any potential donors to consider giving a PES scholarship.
"It's a great proactive tool for reaching out to students who show academic excellence in high school," he said. "I wouldn't be here without it."
Scholars receive the award for four years, or eight semesters of undergraduate study, provided they maintain a 3.5 grade point ratio. They also receive a stipend for a study abroad experience.
Palincsar said he began working at A&M in 1990 to direct a major capital campaign, and he appreciates getting to witness the program's freshmen transform over the course of their Aggie careers.
"Graduates excel in every walk of life, from NASA to working in health care as doctors and dentists. PES students go into education, oil and gas -- every industry imaginable. It's really quite a lot of fun for me to hear of the successes that some of the students are accomplishing in their careers and their professions," Palincsar said.
He also explained that the bonds between donors and students and their families can be long-lasting.
"This event is about more than just saying thank you. It's creating this bond and this relationship," he said. "Many of the PES students will invite donors to their weddings, share Christmas cards, share birth announcements, share graduate school acceptances and more."
A PES can be established by an individual or group with a one-time gift of $100,000 or by a series of gifts over a period of up to five years. Donors may name the scholarship in honor of individuals -- perhaps after family members, an esteemed business colleague or a friend -- a class or an organization.