The relationship between the Jindal School and PwC spans decades and includes more than 100 Jindal alumni. PwC has hired interns and graduates, supported school programs, such as the Center for Internal Auditing Excellence, and provided expert speakers for campus events.
PwC (formerly PricewaterhouseCoopers) has solidified its support of the Jindal School by agreeing to match any donation to the school, up to $10,000, from a current or retired employee.
“PwC has a longstanding commitment to support quality education,” says Amy K. Kraft, PwC’s Greater Texas Talent ID Lead. “We know education is the key to helping people become their best selves and, from a business perspective, it’s what helps us build the teams that give our clients the very best service. Many of our partners and staff are looking to provide their financial support to places that are dear to them. Our UT Dallas alumni are grateful the firm will now be providing the match that helps those dollars grow.”
R. Carter Pate MS’03, a retired PwC executive, has leveraged this corporate commitment in several impactful ways, turning his initial donation, with matching funds from PwC and the Jindal School’s dean’s fund, into a $100,000 endowment that will provide up to five $1,000 scholarships annually for Jindal School accounting students.
“This shows the power of math,” says Erica Yaeger, Jindal School’s assistant dean for development and alumni relations. “You get a generous donor, such as Carter Pate, together with a supportive corporation, like PwC, and just like that, we have five Jindal School students benefitting in perpetuity.”
Pate appreciates the help his donation is providing and notes that for alumni, there’s a self-serving reason to be a donor.
“Alumni giving is important to the rankings — even if it’s $20 a month or whatever you can afford,” says Pate, a 2015 Distinguished Alumnus. “You’ve paired yourself up with the (UT Dallas) brand, so it elevates your own personal achievement to be an alumnus of this school.”
Pate most recently served as the Jindal School spokesperson for the annual Giving Day, held in April. Through a personal financial challenge grant, the Jindal School was able to secure $50,000 in donations, which laid the foundation for the total $100,000 accounting endowment.
“PwC has a purpose statement that says we want to ‘build trust in society and solve important problems.’ We do that in many ways,” says Kraft. The donation match program “is designed to enhance and encourage a spirit of financial responsibility toward the many universities which educate the future workforce.”
