Aggie couple aims to benefit faculty

Accounting graduates Robyn L. ’89 and Alan B. Roberts ’78 want to help Mays Business School maintain its reputation of excellence, so they committed $500,000 which, along with matching funds from school namesakes Peggy and Lowry Mays, will create the Robyn L. ’89 and Alan B. Roberts ’78 Chair in Business. This chair will be used to attract and retain top faculty members at Mays Business School.

Robyn L. ’89 and Alan B. Roberts ’78

The Roberts wanted to help the business school by supporting the teaching and research activities of Mays faculty. Both of the Aggies appreciate the education they received at A&M, as well as the networking they have been able to establish. Robyn also noted that the matching funds were an attractive feature. “You see your gift grow and get used that much faster,” she said.

“Hearing the needs and wanting to help Mays, we wanted to be able to support the great professors in their research and other endeavors,” she said. “That is a very important part of what makes Mays what it is. It is one of the things that makes Mays so prestigious and well-respected.”

The Roberts already have a track record of supporting Mays Business School. They provided $250,000 in 2007 to help fund the Robyn L. ’89 and Alan B. Roberts ’78 Business Honors Scholarship Program.

“Our school cannot thank Robyn and Alan enough for their generous support,” said Mays Dean Jerry Strawser. “By allowing us to attract top faculty members and Business Honors students to our school, their generosity will allow our programs to continue to be recognized among the very best in the world. We are most grateful for their generosity.”

Both accounting majors at A&M, Alan and Robyn had a true Aggie romance, starting when they met at a football game. They have two daughters, Jennifer and Allyson.

They were co-owners of Pumpco Inc, a pipeline construction and oilfield leasing company Alan founded in 1981. In 2007, Pumpco was named to the Aggie 100, the list of the top 100 fastest-growing Aggie-owned-or-operated businesses. In 2008, the Roberts sold the company to MasTec, Inc. of Coral Gables, Fla. Alan Roberts remains as president of Pumpco.