McCombs by Your Side

As dean of the McCombs School of Business and a faculty member here for over two decades, I am often asked what makes this place so special.  

I could speak about McCombs’ top 10 rankings, our prestigious faculty, and our groundbreaking research, but there is something inherent in our school’s character that I believe sets us apart. It’s the degree to which we are connected to one another.  

Our community is vast, but ties run deep. Students forge close relationships here and many keep them, becoming part of a 110,000-strong alumni network that our graduates cultivate and maintain where they live and work around the globe. That’s a key reason we launched McCombs Connect several years ago: to make it easier for our community to keep in touch and provide a place for asking career questions, offering expertise, and sharing wisdom. 

Our students and alumni also know they can count on their alma mater to be there for them throughout their careers, whether they are seeking an advanced degree, guidance on their next career move, or help polishing their résumé or interviewing skills.  

Whatever your journey, we walk by your side. 

We have always helped our students and alumni meet their educational and career goals, but we formalized that relationship in the summer of 2021 when we launched our career management office to provide free assistance to you every step of the way. “We are kind of a hidden gem,” says Ellen Bartkowiak, assistant director of McCombs Alumni Career Management.  

We want those services to become better known. To that end, we highlight in this issue how Bartkowiak and her team helped successful alumni remake their careers. Among them are Marissa Jarratt, BBA ’99, B.A. ’99, MBA ’04. Jarratt, who leads the marketing, communications, and sustainability teams at 7-Eleven Inc. As a leader in her field, she has chosen to walk by our side and serves on various McCombs councils, including the Dean’s Advisory Council. She is like other generous alumni who share their expertise on panels to educate students and alumni, mentor others, and invest in our programs, centers, and buildings. 

Our alumni are making possible a new, ultramodern undergraduate business school, Mulva Hall. Already, more than 50 of them have donated over $1 million each toward our $150 million goal. We have $10 million left to raise, and I am convinced we will make this goal, with your help. If every one of you contributed just $100, we would close the fundraising gap. 

In my two decades at McCombs, annual giving has hovered around 4%, peaking at 10% only once — the year we won the football national championship in 2006 against USC. I see this as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to unite and support the future of business education at The University of Texas at Austin. 

We are at our best when we walk beside each other. 

Lillian F. Mills, Dean 
Lois and Richard Folger Dean’s Leadership Chair
The Beverly H. and William P. O’Hara Endowed Chair in Business
Centennial Chair in Business Education Leadership

To support Mulva Hall and McCombs, visit bit.ly/Give2Mulva