Red & Charline McCombs Continue Long History of Philanthropy at Southwestern with Two $1 Million Gifts

October 26, 1999

Southwestern University alumni Red and Charline McCombs just keep giving and giving and giving to their alma mater, recently raising their philanthropic contributions to Texas' first university to more than $8 million.

Red McCombs, a San Antonio business leader and owner of the Minnesota Vikings, most recently made a $1 million gift to Southwestern for the construction of a new residential center that would bear Charline's name. The gift honors Southwestern's long tradition of offering one of the finest residential experiences for its students, of whom more than 83 percent live on campus. The center would be named the Charline Hamblin McCombs Residential Complex.

The million dollar gift for the residential center complements a separate $1 million gift from the couple for new playing fields for Southwestern students. More than 90 percent of Southwestern students are involved in intercollegiate, club or intramural sports. These recent gifts, targeted for facilities enrichment, follow gifts made within the past year that have targeted funding for minority student scholarships as well as for an ongoing humanitarian aid program, Southwestern's Global Leadership Initiative.

A $250,000 McCombs gift, made in March, provided the resources necessary for the deployment of alumni and Southwestern parent physicians and other volunteer medical personnel, to Macedonia and Albania to assist Kosovar refugees displaced by Serbian troops. The Global Leadership Initiative continues to seek out opportunities around the world where Southwestern students, faculty, alumni and others can make a difference.

Last fall, Charline McCombs made a difference in the area of minority student opportunities, by partnering with the Texas Methodist Foundation in Austin to overcome the legal challenges set in place by the 1996 Hopwood Decision. The decision, which pertains only to Texas and two other Southern states, legally prohibits colleges and universities from considering race in admission or financial aid determinations. An initial $70,000 award from McCombs, specifically earmarked for young minority females, was channeled to the Texas Methodist Foundation-unaffected by Hopwood's ramifications- to begin a fund for high-achieving minority students who apply to and are accepted by Southwestern. Southwestern is affiliated with The United Methodist Church, however minority applicants need not be United Methodist to be eligible for a scholarship award.

Charline McCombs' gift led to the establishment of the Bishop Ernest T. Dixon scholarship fund, which now includes just under $3 million. The fund provides four-year scholarships for high-achieving African-American, Hispanic, and Native American students. This fall, 17 Dixon Scholars matriculated at Southwestern, raising the university's minority enrollment to 16 percent. This most recent scholarship award carries forward a long history by the Red and Charline McCombs of supporting Southwestern student scholarships.

The McCombs' concern for the well-being of and opportunities provided to Southwestern students was also evident through a $6 million gift in 1996 that provided lead support for the construction of a new campus center. The $11.2 million facility, named the Red & Charline McCombs Campus Center, was just one of a half dozen buildings constructed or renovated during the course of Southwestern's $75.5 million comprehensive campaign. The campaign sought funds for student scholarships, facilities enrichment and current operations. Chaired by Mr. McCombs, who also chairs Southwestern's Board of Trustees, the campaign celebrated a highly successful completion in January of 1999. Nearly $92 million was raised under his leadership.

Southwestern president Roy B. Shilling, Jr. said, "The leadership and generous philanthropy provided by Red and Charline McCombs have greatly supported the dramatic transformation which has occurred at Southwestern in recent years. That transformation is, in many ways, attributable to the enthusiastic, positive, can-do attitude of Red McCombs. He and Charline have been there every step of the way as Southwestern has undergone one of the nation's most unusual transformations in liberal arts colleges."

F.W. Olin Foundation President Lawrence W. Milas, whose foundation awarded Southwestern an academic building in 1994 in recognition of the university's academic excellence and national emergence, said "Southwestern's is a remarkable story and one that should be a required case study for all other colleges." The university's F.W. Olin Building, also constructed under the umbrella of the "Leadership 2000" campaign led by Red McCombs, today supports the Departments of Classics, Communication, Modern Languages, and Psychology. It is equipped with an aquatic research laboratory and several multi-media classrooms, including the university's state-of-the-art Language Learning Center.

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