Gift Advances McCombs Center for Leadership and Ethics

Houston energy finance leader Marshall Eubank gives $1 million for programming that affects every student at Texas McCombs.

Marshall Eubank, MBA ’91, has donated $1 million to support the Center for Leadership and Ethics at The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. This gift is the largest in the center’s history.

Eubank, owner and manager of SEG Interests LLC of Houston, said the donation recognizes the profound impact of the center’s sponsored curriculum and research.

“The Center for Leadership and Ethics teaches students the core competencies to become great leaders and managers, while also increasing the reach and reputation of the school within both the academic and business worlds,” he said. Eubank has served on the center’s advisory council since 2019.

Stacey Rudnick, director of the center, said it was important to Eubank that his gift have the greatest impact on the students themselves. “The benefit of giving to the Center for Leadership and Ethics is that every student at McCombs — graduate or undergraduate — is touched by our programming, staff, and faculty,” Rudnick said. “We’re so grateful to Mr. Eubank and excited for what this generous gift means for the future business leaders as they leave our classrooms and go into the working world.”

A leader in the energy industry for more than 30 years, Eubank has now elected to work less, but he still follows the equity markets and the rapidly changing energy markets. Besides working on the occasional oil and gas project, he said he has reinvented himself by opening his mind to researching and investing in new markets, which is an exciting opportunity to take on new challenges.

Having held leadership roles at Black Stone Minerals LP, Enron, and EnCap Investments, Eubank was actively involved in the early stages of the shale revolution. He also is a recognized expert in buying and selling oil and gas properties and advising energy companies.

A native Texan, Eubank started out on Wall Street in 1987. After two years in New York, he returned to his Texas roots and enrolled in the McCombs MBA program.

“I made relationships at McCombs that have lasted a lifetime and helped me in business,” he said. “I also gained a lot of analytical and problem-solving skills, and I learned how to communicate and be a more effective leader.”

With more free time and considering again how to reinvent himself, Eubank was drawn to explore ways he could give back. After carefully researching areas that he could bring his passion to, he found the ideal fit in the McCombs Center for Leadership and Ethics’ advisory council.

“I saw an opportunity to get close to the staff and students, something I loved as a student and dearly missed,” he said. Once he started serving, he recognized the desire to do even more: “There was a clear need for both me and the center.

“In particular, I am grateful for the center’s programs such the MBA Capstone Showcase Event and Ethics Unwrapped,” he said. “With Capstone, it’s rewarding to volunteer as a judge to observe students work together as teams and then combine all of their skills to make recommendations for real businesses and charities. With the Ethics Unwrapped program, their fabulous content offers any individual or institution the skills to address challenging situations and decision-making. By bringing the outside world into the classroom, the center’s programs change how students learn, grow, and lead.”

In addition to providing its core curriculum, the center facilitates applied research and houses the Business of Sports Institute. The center’s researchers are working on problems as diverse as the effect of responsive leadership on employee turnover and the science of high athletic performance.

Eubank said he hopes his gift will kick-start more donations. “The center’s potential is great and expansive,” he said.

McCombs Dean Lillian Mills agreed. “I am so grateful to Mr. Eubank for this generous gift and for his dedication to enhancing our Center for Leadership and Ethics,” she said. “This transformative donation will help our students, faculty members, and industry partners to continue their work in knowledge creation and knowledge-sharing around industry’s most crucial challenges.”

By Maureen Balleza