St. Mary's University, Texas receives $750K donation towards accounting professorship

St. Mary’s University, Texas announced this week that the school has received a $750,000 gift from the Elizabeth Huth Coates Charitable Foundation to fund the newly-minted Ed Boyle Accounting Professorship. The donation will be exclusively devoted to recruiting or retaining a full-time, tenured faculty member who will "promote the study of accounting principles, business knowledge and more, at a time when accounting professors are in high demand," per a school statement.

“This transformational gift will have a tremendous impact on the future of our accounting program,” said University president Thomas Mengler, in a statement. “Without the exceptional faculty members who carry out the important work of educating exceptional leaders, our students would not enjoy the same robust academic experience that attracts them to St. Mary’s. Through this professorship, the Elizabeth Huth Coates Charitable Foundation has helped safeguard this legacy for the next generation of accounting students.”

The professorship is named after alumnus Ed Boyle (B.B.A. ’71), CFO of Coates Energy. Boyle previously served on the St. Mary’s Alumni Association Board of Directors and on the University’s Board of Trustees.

“My time as a student at St. Mary’s University is one of those times that was etched in my memory,” Boyle said in October when accepting the 2015 Distinguished Alumni award, per the University. “It was full of people who worked hard to provide opportunities for others, so that they might improve their lives and better serve the communities in which they lived.”

For more on the University, head to their site here.