Fouse endowments benefitting students and faculty at UT Arlington
Jackie Fouse
Distinguished alumna Jackie Fouse, (BA '82, MA '84) knows first-hand the value of a UT Arlington education. Currently chief financial officer at Bunge Limited, a leading global agribusiness and food company founded in 1918 in Amsterdam and now headquartered in White Plains, NY and formerly senior vice president and chief financial officer at Alcon, she draws on her UT Arlington education every day. So it seemed natural that she would want to nurture the college that gave her a start.
Fouse established an endowed scholarship and helped create an endowed chair in UT Arlington's noted
Goolsby Leadership Academy with a gift of $250,000, generous support that will accrue long-term benefits to both students and faculty. Utilizing available matching funds, the College of Business, where the
Goolsby Leadership Academy is housed, leveraged that gift into $500,000 which was split between two endowments, the Jacqualyn A. Fouse Endowed Scholarship and the Goolsby-Jacqualyn A. Fouse Endowed Chair.
The Goolsby Leadership Academy is a two-year program that prepares select junior and senior undergraduate business majors for future leadership roles. It provides rigorous study in a broad range of subjects related to effective leadership and business. Goolsby scholars receive scholarships and are chosen through an intensive selection process.
Fouse sees her commitment as an investment in the future of the program. "It's important to know that this support is going directly to students and faculty. Through outstanding students and by attracting quality faculty, that's how you build a program, and I know that the Goolsby program is fabulous. I've mentored and hired Goolsby graduates, and so I've seen the fruits of this program, and I want to help it grow."
Already working when she was deciding where to attend college, Fouse chose
UT Arlington based on the reputation of the business school and because it offered her the flexibility to work and study at the same time. Her dedication to the
College of Business and UT Arlington has grown deeper over the years. Fouse, who was honored as a UT Arlington Distinguished Alumna in 2004, is a long-standing member of the University's Development Board and the College's Advisory Council. For her, service and support are key to the continued success of the institution, and she makes both a priority. "We all get busy, and it can be too easy not to serve, but if we can carve out time based on our practical business experience, we do have something to offer that the university can factor in and use, and as others see that, then they're more likely to join in."
When asked what she hoped to achieve with this gift, she said, "It's straightforward. I received a great education at UT Arlington that I've been able to leverage. I'm lucky now to have the means to give back, and if more people give back, it opens more opportunities for giving and involvement, which can only help further the continued development of the university." And for that, students and faculty alike can be grateful.
Distinguished Alumna Jackie Fouse (center) with two recent Goolsby Leadership Academy scholars*
*Photo used with permission of the UT Arlington College of Business
