Petersens give back to university that has given their family so much

Bruce ’83 and Kris ’81 Petersen

Since graduating from Texas A&M in the early 1980s, Kris ’81 and Bruce ’83 Petersen have been involved in the life of their alma mater in a variety of ways. They met each other through the San Antonio A&M Club and have remained active in the club over the years. As Executive Managing Director of Investments at USAA Real Estate Company, Bruce has also had the opportunity to hire Mays students for internships and full-time positions, and he has served as a guest speaker for the Real Estate Department’s Friday Speaker Series on several occasions. When their two sons, Bryce ’14 and Dane ’14, were admitted to Mays Business School’s Business Honors and Business Fellows programs, the Petersens had a chance to learn more about these innovative programs.

“I am continually “pinching myself’ because the experience our sons are having at Mays is too good to be true, but true!” Kris said. “The boys have really benefitted from the smaller class sizes, the exceptional student peer group and the access to business leaders through the speakers programs and educational trips. We are truly grateful for the incredible impact these programs, and the people who lead them, have made on the lives of our sons and so many students.”

As they carefully considered how they would make their first “significant” gifts to Texas A&M, the Petersens chose to create endowments for the two programs in which their sons are enrolled. Through a $25,000 gift, the Petersens established the Kris ’81 and Bruce ’83 Petersen Business Honors Development Endowment, which provides funding support for the activities of the Business Honors Program. A second $25,000 gift created the Kris ’81 and Bruce ’83 Petersen Business Fellows Endowment, supporting programmatic expenses such as event travel, speaker fees and operational costs of the school’s Business Fellows Program. A $50,000 matching gift from Bruce’s employer, USAA, created the USAA Real Estate Company Endowed Scholarship, which will provide merit-based scholarship support to a student in the Texas A&M Real Estate Program.

“The Petersens’ generous gifts will provide important support to our students and their learning experiences,” said Mays Dean Jerry Strawser. “The fact that their commitment was driven by their sons’ experiences at Mays makes these gifts even more meaningful to our School.”

“Texas A&M has blessed our family in so many ways—both personally and professionally,” said Bruce. “To give back to these programs is really an honor.”

About Mays Business School

Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School educates more than 5,000 undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students in accounting, finance, management, management information systems, marketing and supply chain management. Mays consistently ranks among the top public business schools in the country for its undergraduate and MBA programs, and for faculty research. The mission of Mays Business School is creating knowledge and developing ethical leaders for a global society.