Billionaire Houston Tycoon Leads UH’s Billion Dollar Fundraising Drive

What: The University of Houston billion dollar campaign kickoff

Where: The Ezekiel W. Cullen Lawn on the UH campus

PC Moment: It was applause, applause for Kathrine McGovern and the John P. McGovern Foundation, which launched the public phase of the fundraising effort with a $20 million gift, creating a permanent endowment for the now-named Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts. The announcement was made by University of Houston System Chancellor and UH president Renu Khator in an outdoor rally. The billion dollar goal, largest in the university’s history, is the lofty target of campaign chairs Tilman Fertitta, Beth Madison, John Nau III and Marvin Odum. To date $680 million has been raised through 130,000 donors.

Who: UH head of development Eloise Dunn Brice, Bess and Rob Wilson, Nancy and Robert Martin, Carroll and Hugh Ray, Lillie Robertson, Welcome Wilson, Deborah and Otis Birdsong, Barbara and Leroy Hermes, Carl Lewis, Lily and Charles Foster, Beth Robertson, Leroy Burrell, Laura Murillo, Corbin Robertson Jr., and Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff.