W. Ralph Canada, Jr. Endowment for Horns Helping Horns

May 10, 2010 | Excellence Funds & Program Support

The W. Ralph Canada, Jr. Endowment for Horns Helping Horns was established by the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System on May 10, 2010, to benefit The University of Texas Division of Student Affairs. Gift funds were provided by Mr. W. Ralph Canada, Jr.  He wrote:

“When David Livingston of the UT Development Office first contacted me and we began discussions about how I might contribute to UT, I thought the help I could give would probably be off in the future, perhaps even after death. I think I thought this way because what is most often publicized are the extremely large donations to the University, which I am not in a position to make at this time.

Ralph Canada, Jr.

As we continued to have discussions, though, David acquainted me with ways in which I might help UT where a smaller amount of money might nonetheless make a difference. One of these was the Horns Helping Horns program that had just started. As I learned more about the program, I felt like it was a place where my contribution would be directly translatable into improving UT and the lives of some of its students. Through the program, I’ve had the opportunity to meet some of the students affected and the advisors and have been very impressed.

Following my receipt of my undergraduate from The University of Texas I was fortunate enough to be accepted and attend Harvard Law School, from which I graduated three years later. I often tell people the stories of how I had never flown on a plane until flying to begin Harvard and how one of my fellow Texans in the class remarked regularly that we Texans had all gotten in on the “affirmative action program for hicks.” While this may be true, I am proud to say that the education that I got at The University of Texas put me in good stead for the academic rigors of the law school. For this, I will be always grateful and would like to pay back as much as I can. And while I still plan on including UT in my estate plans, I am grateful to David for showing me a way I could also make a difference now.”

Hook ‘em.

– Ralph Canada

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