GIVING
The Great Future
Charles T. "Ted" Bauer Legacy Lives Through the C. T. Bauer Foundation
Born in 1919 in Boston, Charles T. “Ted” Bauer had an extraordinary journey ahead of him.
His mother, educated at Wellesley College, and his father, a graduate of Harvard and a doctor who was president of the American Medical Association, divorced when Bauer was young. Shortly after the divorce, he and his mother moved to France. Several years later, they returned to Boston where he attended and graduated from the Roxbury Latin School, the oldest preparatory school in continuous existence in North America.
From there, Mr. Bauer graduated from Harvard College, class of 1942. He missed his graduation ceremony to serve in World War II as a naval aviator. After the war, he worked as a securities analyst on Wall Street. At night, he attended New York University to earn his MBA.
Despite being a product of the Great Depression, Bauer was always a risk taker, but a smart one.
During his 50s, he took two huge, calculated risks. He left a secure executive position and was brought to Houston by businessman and civic leader Gus Wortham. Then at age 57, Bauer created AIM Investment Management, which he successfully built to become the seventh largest mutual fund company in the country.
During his career at AIM, he discovered the business school at the University of Houston. The hard work and dedication of the UH student population struck a chord with Bauer, and reminded him of his own experience at NYU. It was also a time of much needed growth at the business college. Bauer’s gift had an immediate impact at a critical time. The results were dramatic for students, faculty and alumni, as it transformed the college into a nationally recognized business school.
Charles T. “Ted” Bauer was a visionary in every sense of the word.
When he gave a transformational $40 million gift in 2000 to the College of Business Administration at the University of Houston, he ensured that the college would have the resources to grow, innovate and become the business school for the next generation. Now, nearly two decades later, Bauer's legacy is firmly placed in the college that bears his name, the C. T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston.
There’s no question in my mind.
To help people to get an education
is the finest thing you can do.
— CHARLES T. "TED" BAUER
“There’s no question in my mind. To help people to get an education is the finest thing you can do,” Bauer said at the time of the gift. “Students are the great future, and every city should have a top university, and Houston is going to have one.”
The rest is history.
After Bauer’s passing on June 28, 2004, the C. T. Bauer Foundation was created primarily to support education in Houston.
The C. T. Bauer Foundation worked with the college to launch the Ted Bauer Undergraduate Business Scholars Program in Fall 2015. To date, the foundation has given over $7.6 million to support 280 students with full tuition in their last two years of school.
“This support has helped Bauer College support student success and timely graduation,” Undergraduate Business Programs Associate Dean Frank Kelley said. “One of the primary reasons students stay in school longer is because they are working to pay for tuition.”
Here, students and alumni share how Bauer’s vision and legacy has helped them succeed in the pursuit of higher education, Bauer’s ultimate goal.
Jazmin Perez
Management Information Systems Senior
Ozzy Sheikh
Entrepreneurship & Accounting Senior
Kaylen Hayes
Supply Chain Management Senior
Nebil Adam
Management Information Systems Senior
A RIPPLE EFFECT
By Camille Corales
Because you gave, I found my purpose and passion.
Before being accepted into Bauer as a sophomore, I was on the verge of losing myself while aimlessly going through life without direction. Through all the negative circumstances happening in my personal life, such as my parents recently getting divorced, losing my first internship, and someone close to me passing away, you can easily see how much one student can begin to lose herself and get caught up in the middle of chaos.
I found my passion: helping others through education. All it took was one person — you, Ted Bauer. Now, I want to be that one person that will help students and hopefully inspire others to do the same.
CAMILLE CORALES
(BBA ’17)
At this point in 2014, I was tired of feeling like I had nothing to look forward to. So what did I do? I immersed myself in different organizations in order to stay busy and not think about the mess my life had become. My first step was applying to the Ted Bauer Leadership Certificate Program and surprisingly getting in without any leadership abilities. It was in that moment during my first class of TBLCP that I knew I needed to change in order to be a better person with a clearer sense of direction. I wanted to learn how to continuously grow through the circumstances that life has given me & to be able to tell my story to inspire others. Throughout my sophomore year, I began strengthening my values, working on my interpersonal skills and little did I know, I found myself and my path.
After getting my first taste of personal development and leadership experience from the TBLCP program, it was only upwards from there. Through the support of Bauer staff such as Instructional Assistant Professor Jacqueline Kacen, Undergraduate Business Programs Associate Dean Frank Kelley, and Instructional Assistant Professor Emese Felvegi, I was able to gain valuable feedback on how to lead the “Bauer” way: with integrity and confidence. I learned how to focus on actions that helped get my life back on track.
I learned how to be a better student and a better trailblazer. I learned that once you act on the things you can control; your actions cause a ripple effect that can easily change your direction in life.
Thanks to you, Ted Bauer, I no longer see myself nor associate myself with who I use to be. I was lost during my first year in Bauer. However, after allowing myself to be open to the Bauer culture and Bauer opportunities, my whole life changed. I became the president of the American Marketing Association, then moved up to oversee seven different collegiate chapters. Additionally, I also became a Bauer Senator and the co-chair & co-founder for the Ted Bauer Undergraduate Business Scholars Alumni Program. With your help, I’ve pursued my dream in entrepreneurship through a startup. Now, I am currently co-founding a new educational platform that will help students save money in the pharmacy space. PCAT Copycat is a new test preparation platform that aims to help pre-pharmacy students study for their PCAT exam. Our differentiating factor is that we were able to place the concepts and subjects online, making studying more audio and visual - while maintaining a lower price than those already in the market.
After that one year that I had seen your vision and mission towards giving back, I found my passion: helping others through education. All it took was one person, you, Ted Bauer. Now, I want to be that one person that will help students and hopefully inspire others to do the same.
Because you gave … you didn’t just change my life; you created a ripple effect that has slowly changed the world.
Karim Motani
Supply Chain Management Senior
Victoria Deleon
Supply Chain Management & Marketing Junior
Brianna Tenbrink
Marketing & Management Junior
Liz Reyes
Accounting Senior
Kafia Hersi
Accounting Senior
A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITY
By Sobouh Rahimi
Because Ted Bauer gave, I can learn. Learn to fail, to overcome, to change and in turn, to lead. I can change lives. I can network. I can take part. I can explore. I can have fun. Above all else, because Ted Bauer gave, I simply can.
As a first-generation immigrant and a first-generation college student, it often appeared as though I was on a predetermined path to failure. Having had moved almost every other year; my family has constantly been in survival mode, leaving no time or opportunity for formal learning.
I can change lives. I can network. I can take part. I can explore. I can have fun. Above all else, because Ted Bauer gave, I simply can.
SOBOUH RAHIMI
ACCOUNTING & SUPPLY CHAIN
MANAGEMENT SOPHOMORE
In my opinion, knowledge is the one thing in life that no one can take away, which is why it holds such immense value and power. My mother, in her home country of Iran, faced religious persecution and was denied the privilege of higher education. In turn, she joined an underground university in an attempt to deepen her learning. To this day, in her mid-50s, despite battling through stage-four cancer, she is taking undergraduate-level classes to exercise her undeniable right to education towards earning a bachelor’s degree. It is through my mother’s experience that I learned the true value of learning. Ted Bauer’s selfless act not only echoed but amplified the value of education by seeking to make learning more attainable for everyone.
Because Ted Bauer gave, I can strive to change lives, just as he did on July 20, 2000. Today, his altruism radiates throughout the buildings he funded and the priceless lives that he has affected. He has paved the way for countless students to have the sheer opportunity to attend and exceed in a prestigious business school with excellent, qualified professors. A large portion of Ted Bauer’s donation has been designated to helping students through need and merit-based scholarships. Scholarships that make it possible for underprivileged students to find themselves in their modern version of “The American Dream.”
Because Ted Bauer gave, I can take part. Take part of not only my education, but a bigger organization, with an even larger cause. In my two semesters at the University, I have served as a student ambassador, where the notion of changing lives lies at the forefront of every interaction with prospective and new students. As local middle and high school students toured the campus, I saw firsthand a change in perception. The perception of elitism, elusiveness, and indebtedness are wiped at the sight of the campus’ diversity, and openness. The University of Houston is unique in that it is founded on the basis of being the working man’s college. The vision and legacy of the founding Cullen family has clearly resonated with Ted Bauer’s philanthropy.
The Emerging Leaders Academic Success Program, along with the numerous student organizations like the Internal Audit Student Association have served as a nurturing environment for leadership development and long-lasting friendship. Through each meeting, workshop, banquet and information session, bonds are strengthened, and a deeper sense of belonging takes root. Such interactions stem into valuable networking opportunities with future potential employers who see the value of C. T. Bauer College of Business’ degree.
Most importantly, because Ted Bauer gave, I simply can. Higher education, for me, is not an option but an absolute necessity. Because had it not been, my mother would not have undergone the tremendous difficulties to bring us to America. Yet, had it not been for Ted Bauer’s selfless act of donation, families like mine with people like me would not have had the opportunity to even try to, much less actually succeed. Because Ted Bauer gave, I can do anything.
Cruz Cabrales
Management Information Systems Senior
Kiana McGowan
Accounting Senior
Raymond Fung
Management Information Systems Senior
Sara Momin
Accounting Senior
