The University of Texas at Arlington received the largest single donation in the college’s history in 2023, and it came from one of its own alumni. Kelcy Warren, Executive Chairman of Energy Transfer, gifted the university 12 million dollars to help build out its resource and energy engineering program, known on campus as REE, at a moment when demand for trained engineers keeps climbing.

A Graduate Reinvesting in His Roots

Warren graduated from UT-Arlington in 1978, and he currently sits on the University of Texas System Board of Regents. In announcing the gift, he tied the donation directly to his own experience at the school. “I am honored to give back to the institution that has played such a pivotal role in advancing my educational and professional journeys,” Kelcy Warren said, adding that “Texas faces a critical need for highly skilled graduates who can manage energy resources, and this innovative REE program will help meet that demand.”

Filling a Workforce Gap

University officials said the gift arrives at a moment when energy companies across Texas are competing for engineers trained specifically in resource management, a skill set the REE program is designed to build from the ground up. The donation is expected to fund new coursework, research capacity and faculty positions aimed at producing graduates ready to step directly into the energy sector after graduation.

Kelcy Warren’s gift builds on a long relationship with UT-Arlington that stretches back decades, including earlier contributions supporting research and scholarships at the school. School leaders have pointed to the 2023 donation as a turning point for the engineering program’s growth, noting that gifts of this size from a single alumnus remain rare in the university’s history and are likely to shape the program for years to come. Faculty involved in the REE program say the funding will help recruit additional instructors and expand lab space, changes they expect to draw more students into a field that Texas employers have struggled to staff at the pace they need. Refer to this article for related information.

 

Learn more about Kelcy Warren on https://horatioalger.org/members/detail/kelcy-l-warren/