O’Haras Pledge $16 Million to McCombs

Beverly and Will O’Hara have pledged $16 million to the McCombs School to help meet a wide range of goals, including strengthening the top-ranked Accounting Department and the nationally renowned Business Honors Program (BHP).

The donation is the largest to the school since Red McCombs donated his name and $50 million in 2000.

"This is an extraordinary gift," says University of Texas at Austin President William Powers Jr. "It is extremely generous and far-sighted."

Will O’Hara earned his BBA from McCombs in 1968 and has been a part-time lecturer in the Accounting Department. Beverly is a devoted Longhorn supporter who says she “bleeds orange.” Both are deeply committed to higher education. After successful careers in retail and financial services, the O’Haras wanted to help transform the lives of young students.

"Higher education is expensive, and there are so many young people with a lot of potential who simply cannot afford it," says Beverly. "When you give something back to the university, you give someone the opportunity to fulfill their dreams."

The gift will provide more fellowships for doctoral-level research in accounting, scholarships for the Business Honors Program and will help fund new learning programs. The gift will also endow a faculty chair in a department yet to be decided.

As an alumnus and faculty member, Will O’Hara has a strong appreciation for teachers. He has a particular desire to support Ph.D. students, especially in accounting, because of how valuable they are to the school’s future. The Accounting Department was ranked number one in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in 2008.

"McCombs has a great reputation," he says, "but in order to maintain it, we need to continue to send stellar Ph.D. graduates into the world with their McCombs credentials."

Demand for accounting education has been increasing to record levels, while the number of accounting faculty members in the U.S. has fallen. A recent report by the American Accounting Association notes that the average accounting Ph.D. output from universities over the last five years was 140 graduates per year, while demand for replacement faculty in accounting is estimated at roughly 500 per year for the next five to ten years—a sign that a critical shortage is looming.

"This gift will make a significant impact on this crisis," says Accounting Department Chair Urton Anderson. "It will make us more competitive in our ability to attract more top students and to provide our students with the support they need to complete their degrees on a timely basis, while also allowing us to increase our numbers."

BHP students are typically ranked in the top 2 percent of their high school classes, have a Scholastic Aptitude Test score higher than 1450 and are leaders in their schools and communities. However, in recent years, this prestigious program has faced challenges in recruiting top students because of financial constraints.

"The Business Honors Program competes with top schools like Harvard, Stanford or Pennsylvania for the very best students," says McCombs School Dean Thomas Gilligan. "However, those institutions are able to offer large financial aid packages, especially to minority students or to those who come from households with modest incomes. This gift will go a long way, helping Texas stay competitive."

The O’Hara gift will also help create experiential learning programs. This is one of Gilligan’s priorities for the school moving forward.

"Immersing students in hands-on learning allows for a more well-rounded educational experience," Gilligan says. "For example, if students travel abroad to learn about business in China, the overall experience can provide a broader base of knowledge, compared to a class lecture on China alone. Our students must graduate with an understanding of the global economy to be successful."

The couple’s dedication to education is apparent through Will’s teaching at the McCombs School.

"Professor O’Hara has a deep compassion for his students who profit from his expert instruction about accounting and life," says former student Alyson Abney. "He challenges those in his class to chase their dreams—and to dream big! He truly believed in me and made me feel like I could succeed in accounting. His support made a huge difference for me personally in my freshman and sophomore years. He is a professor that I will never forget."

Beverly and Will say they are thrilled to offer future generations access to higher education. "The goal is not to live forever. The goal is to create something that does," Beverly says. "And an education is something that no one can ever take away from you."