Houston, TX entrepreneur Tony Chase is keeping his father’s legacy alive.

According to a press release, the entrepreneur has donated $1 million to the University of Texas (UT) at Austin’s School of Architecture. His generous contributions will honor his late father John S. Chase, who also made history as the first Black licensed architect in Texas and became the first Black graduate of UT’s school of architecture.

“As one of the first Black students to enroll at UT, John Chase helped pave the way for progress and change,” said UT Austin President Jay Hartzell, in a press release. “Then, he brought his considerable talents, creativity and education together to design special places that brought people together. This gift is an investment in the transformative power of education to bring about that sort of change and impact, and will support us as we continue to strive for excellence delivered through a richly diverse and inclusive campus.”

The new funding will be used to create The John S. Chase Family Endowed Graduate Fellowship to help recruit graduate students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities to the University of Texas at Austin in hopes of diversifying the employment pipeline. In addition, The John S. Chase Family Endowed Professorship in Architecture will be established to hire and retain faculty members while supporting their studies.

President Jay Hartzell

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