Lee Bagan Endowment

Throughout his time at The University of Texas at Austin, Lee Bagan was a staunch advocate for disabled students, serving on the President’s Committee for Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility and the Austin Mayor’s Committee for Disability Policy.

While a student at the University, Lee spearheaded efforts to raise money for economically underprivileged disabled students. He worked to ensure that students with cognitive disabilities got the help they needed to succeed in college. Lee launched a letter-writing campaign and spoke to student organizations. Before long, with the help of the University’s Department of Disability and Access, he raised $25,000. At the department’s insistence, the fully funded endowment was named the Lee Bagan Endowed Scholarship Fund in 2008. As of 2024, the fund is valued at more than $100,000. Income from the fund helps financially underprivileged students pay for the psychological testing they need to access federal educational benefits. The endowment has provided resources to dozens of deserving students deeply in need of financial support.

In 2018, U.S. Special Operations Command provided him unique authorization to enroll at Stanford University to pursue both a law degree and a Ph.D. while in uniform. He applied to Stanford while on a combat deployment and remains the only student ever to graduate from Stanford Law School in only two years.

Due to his Special Forces service as well as his legal and doctoral training, Lee maintains unique experience at the intersection of geopolitics, economics, law and finance. After retiring from the military, he began work in the financial technology industry.

In addition to his military awards, Lee has been honored with the Key to the City of his hometown, Highland Park, Illinois, as well as the Outstanding Young Texas Exes Award, presented to him by the President of The University of Texas at Austin in 2012.