Paying It Forward
McCombs alumni establish endowments for the school
New executive director of McCombs Real Estate Center supported by John C. Goff gift
A commercial real estate expert steeped in architecture, finance, and research is the new head of the Real Estate Center at the McCombs School of Business. Mark Roberts, CFA, AIA, is the “perfect fit for the role,” says John C. Goff, BBA ’77, who endowed the John C. Goff Endowed Chair in Real Estate that supports Roberts.
As the center’s executive director, Roberts brings extensive industry experience to McCombs as a registered architect, a fellow at the Real Estate Research Institute, and a regular contributor to the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries.
“My first interaction with UT was in the early 2000s,” says Roberts, “back when the Real Estate Center at McCombs was just getting underway and Jay Hartzell invited me to come speak to the students. When I was president of RERI, I also had a great opportunity to work with McCombs finance professor Sheridan Titman.”
Over the years, Roberts continued to speak regularly at McCombs real estate events, meeting with many industry leaders, including Goff. The two men found common ground, and now are connected through the John C. Goff Endowed Chair in Real Estate.
“John wanted to make the McCombs real estate program the No. 1 program in the country,” Roberts says, noting how the school’s program specializes in real estate finance. For Roberts, this combination is what set McCombs apart from other top schools.
“And when you add to that the unique offerings at UT’s schools of engineering, architecture, public policy, and urban planning,” he continues, “UT is top tier in those schools, which all touch on real estate in one area or another. Looking at other universities, they may have one or two components, but not all of them. I am very grateful to John, Jay, Sheridan, and the Real Estate Center team for this opportunity.”
Roberts’ background on both sides of the real estate investment industry primed him for leading the program into even further productive collaborations, Goff says. Roberts’ mission is to invite more conversations between schools at the university while also engaging in active industry outreach with organizations such as the Urban Land Institute, the NCREIF, and the Pension Real Estate Association.
“My goal is to bring industry and academia together to provide a more diverse perspective on real estate,” says Roberts. He says he plans to work with professors and support their efforts to incorporate current events into the classroom while also bringing the university’s research prowess to the industry.
That goal meshes with Goff’s vision. Roberts’ background in research, investing, and architecture “will add dimension to our program to further distinguish it from other real estate programs in the country,” Goff says. “I’m excited about what Mark will accomplish for UT, and I look forward to working with him.”
Bondy Family endows scholarships for their lasting impact
When Craig Bondy, BBA honors ’95, chose to study at The University of Texas at Austin, he was looking for an Ivy League-type experience with the exclusive academic attention of a smaller institution. Thanks to the business honors program, renamed in 2018 as the Canfield Business Honors Program to recognize a generous gift from Phil Canfield, BBA honors ’89, and the Canfield family, the McCombs School of Business checked both boxes.
“I wanted the big university experience with all the opportunities and options and energy that come with a large campus,” he says, “but with a small, targeted, and rigorous academic program.”
Bondy says the honors program was the reason he came to Texas from Chicago, and it’s what inspired him to give back to McCombs years later.
“The BHP program introduced me to a small, intimate cohort of high-achieving students to go through the entire program with, which really helped shrink the school in total,” he says. “On top of that, we were getting tremendous teaching from the school’s best professors, and the emphasis on small group work introduced us to how a business operates.”
He says he saw business recruiters seek out BHP students, and his own career is a testament to this. He started on Wall Street in a small analyst class for First Boston with about 55 other people and recalls being one of several to come from UT’s business school.
“We started with students from Harvard, Yale, Virginia, Princeton, and our seven or eight became the leaders of that class, both socially and professionally,” he recounts. “It really validated my decision that we were not only well-trained for Wall Street, but well-rounded by our collaborative experience in the BHP program.”
After several years with First Boston (which became Credit Suisse) — including a stint in its London office — Bondy earned an MBA from Stanford University before joining GTCR, a Chicago-based private equity firm — one of the oldest in the country. He has worked with GTCR for more than 20 years, serving in many leadership positions.
Today, Bondy is passionate about opening the same doors that the Canfield BHP program opened for him. Along with his wife, Elliana, he believes that investing in someone’s education is the most powerful and long-lasting investment one can make.
“Education really has a compounding effect, impacting not just the individual but all the lives in their family,” says Bondy. “Seeing the combination of how many opportunities the BHP presented to me and knowing that folks wouldn’t otherwise have that opportunity has been a driving force in our philanthropy.”
The Bondy Family has endowed a President’s Scholarship in Business through the McCombs Scholars Program, as well as a President’s Scholarship in Business Honors that was doubled through the Canfield Matching Program. The Bondys are supporting four students this fall with scholarships to Texas McCombs.
This year’s Bondy Family Endowed President’s Scholarship in Business recipient, Aiden Brasov, is set to graduate in 2023. He is a member of the Honors Business Association and Young Life, and he has served as a Longhorn legislative aide with UT’s student government. He currently is the student government’s director of advertising.
“Without the Bondys’ generosity, The University of Texas at Austin would have been financially unattainable for me,” he wrote in a letter. “I am so blessed to be able to attend such an institution.”
Susser family makes McCombs Scholarships a generational legacy
Sam Susser, BBA ’85, credits his University of Texas experience with transforming his life. From playing Division 1 golf to building lifelong friendships and receiving the education that enabled him to have a successful career in investment banking, Susser says his philosophy of giving is about providing similar opportunities to new generations of students.
“I believe we have an enormous need in Texas to increase access to education,” he says. “This is what America should be all about.”
With this in mind, Susser and his wife, Catherine have given generously to the university for a number of years and have set up scholarship programs, including one to honor their daughter, also a McCombs graduate.
Sam Susser says his family gets more out of it than they give. Referring to the initial recipient of their McCombs Forty Acres Scholarship, he points to a cherished friendship he developed with Scott Kennedy, who graduated in 2020.
“I think Scott’s done more for me than we’ve ever done for him,” says Susser, highlighting Kennedy’s extraordinary career on campus and involvement with student organizations. Susser says that watching Kennedy’s progress over four years made him a better parent to his own UT students, Sophie, BBA ’20, and Sam, who is set to graduate in 2021. In fact, as a thank you to the school for Sophie’s educational experience, Susser and his wife established and named a Texas Challenge scholarship in her honor at McCombs.
“We felt that there wasn’t a more meaningful way to honor Sophie’s four years than to set up a scholarship for the future, a program where students without the same resources will be able to enjoy the same opportunities at UT,” he says.
After participating in the Wall Street for McCombs program, Sophie Susser now works for Lazard in New York, a financial advisory and asset management firm. Reflecting on her time at McCombs, she says she could not have asked for a better educational experience and preparation for her career in investment banking. Having a scholarship named for her is both an honor and a reminder of how important it is to give back, she says.
“My hope is that recipients of this gift can fully take advantage of the UT experience like I did,” she adds, “and that they cherish their four years on the Forty Acres as well.”
This article appeared in the winter 2020 issue of McCombs magazine. Click on the link to see the full issue.
