Steve Hicks School of Social Work Established at UT Austin With Gift from Regent and Telecommunications Pioneer
The School of Social Work will be renamed in recognition of a generous gift from R. Steven “Steve” Hicks, a telecommunications pioneer and vice chairman of the UT System Board of Regents.
Image Credit: Photo by Marsha Miller
AUSTIN, Texas — R. Steven “Steve” Hicks, telecommunications pioneer and vice chairman of the Board of Regents at The University of Texas System, has made a generous gift to advance The University of Texas at Austin’s School of Social Work. In recognition, the university will name it the Steve Hicks School of Social Work.
“By investing in our social work students, Steve Hicks is investing in a fabric that binds communities together. Social work students commit to dedicate their lives to service and enriching the lives of others. In return, UT commits to support them thanks to Steve Hicks’ generous philanthropy,” said Gregory L. Fenves, president of The University of Texas at Austin.
Hicks, who comes from the business world, decided to direct his philanthropic efforts to social work because he recognizes both the critical role that social workers play in society and the fact that attaining a degree often requires taking on substantial debt that cannot be easily paid off on the typical social work salary. This is a significant hurdle that discourages many talented people from entering or staying in the profession.
“This is a transformative gift for our school. Mr. Hicks knows that social workers provide critical services across the life span and across social and economic lines. Thanks to his generosity, more individuals regardless of socioeconomic background will be able to respond to their social work calling with less concern about student debt and will have more freedom after graduating to pursue their passion for helping others and changing the world for the better,” said Luis H. Zayas, dean of the School of Social Work.
The gift totals $25 million, of which $10 million will go to establish a permanent endowment to support student scholarships. Another $5 million will be used as matching funds to encourage additional gifts to support the education of future social workers. The remaining $10 million of the gift will be used to enhance social work education in the fields of addictions, fundraising and philanthropy. This gift is believed to be among the largest ever to a public university’s school of social work.
