NEXT is NOW
Texas State University launched the NEXT IS NOW capital campaign a decade ago to support its drive to make our students’ dreams of success a reality, expand our applied research capabilities, and advance our teaching excellence.
As we close in on our $250 million goal, we remain laser focused on advancing TXST’s initiatives of ensuring student success and becoming an R1 national research university.
Thanks to the contributions of more than 53,600 donors, we are 97% of the way toward reaching the NEXT IS NOW campaign goal, and we’ve grown the Texas State endowment to more than $356 million.
The success of the NEXT IS NOW campaign shows what we can do together as Bobcats. We want to bring everybody to the table — students, alumni, faculty, staff, and the wider TXST community — as we work together to maintain this momentum and achieve even greater heights in the future.
★★★
Rebecca Hinkle Mehrwerth
A first-gen alum and supporter of McCoy College of Business students
By Lane Fortenberry
As a native of the small town of Lockhart, Rebecca Hinkle Mehrwerth knows that students from rural areas sometimes don’t have access to the same resources as students from large cities.
Mehrwerth, a 1988 finance graduate, worked her way through college, finding support at Texas State from faculty members and fellow students who became lifelong friends.
“Texas State really represented this affordable, well-rounded experience that helped me to develop the skills that I needed to grow my career,” said Mehrwerth, a first-generation college graduate.
Mehrwerth works in the biotech industry, focusing on startups that are eventually acquired by larger companies. This experience has provided her with the unique perspective of working in diverse teams and collaborating across different functions.
In fall 2022, Mehrwerth made her first commitment to TXST, endowing a scholarship to support students from small communities.
“Being able to make an impact for the students who come next — it’s our duty and privilege,” she said.
Mehrwerth, who lives in Minnesota with her husband and children, serves on the McCoy College of Business Dean’s Leadership Council. She recently visited campus to be the speaker for the first-generation McCoy College of Business dinner, and she also joined the Women in Business student group for breakfast.
“One message I was happy to share with these groups was that in my roles in the biotech industry, I’m often sitting at the table with Ivy League grads,” she said. “Should I be intimidated because I went to a smaller college in Texas? No, not at all. Bobcats are scrappy, and we’re tough. We get it done. I’m just incredibly proud of being from Texas State, and I hope to continue to support them as long as I’m able.”
★★★
Rubén Garza
Alum and retired professor champions student success
By Jeremy Thomas
As a Bobcat alum and retired Texas State faculty member, Rubén Garza knows well the financial challenges that students sometimes encounter when making their way through school.
“I think there’s an ‘invisible’ group of students who aren’t always at the games or campus events because they’re spending so much time working to make ends meet,” said Garza, who retired in 2020 from his position as Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs in the College of Education.
Shortly before his retirement, Garza established the Rubén Garza Endowment in Education scholarship to assist secondary education student-teachers enrolled in the College of Education.
Garza spent three years as assistant dean, during which time he routinely interacted with students, including some at risk of academic suspension. Engaging with these students gave him a new perspective about how financial hardships can directly impact students’ academic performance.
Student teaching is a full-time commitment, and many education majors find themselves crunched for time. They’re faced with sacrificing their study and teaching-preparation time to work for income, or they’re forced to stop working to focus on their education and student-teaching.
“It’s not a huge scholarship but helping to alleviate financial burdens is what’s important, even if it’s just for books or supplies,” Garza said. “Every little bit makes a difference.”
Retirement has given Garza time to reflect on the growth and development of Texas State. He takes pride in knowing that his endowment is now a part of the vast pool of resources available to Bobcat students.
“Everybody needs help at some point in time,” he said. “You can’t do it alone. I was helped throughout my career, so it’s an honor and privilege to give back.”
★★★
Sharon Lockett and Lisa Spencer
Friends of TXST host performances in support of music students
By Robyn Ross
On a Sunday in late February, guests arrived at Lisa Spencer’s San Marcos home for a musical salon showcasing TXST students. Cohost Sharon Lockett greeted them with a smile. As a group of vocalists entered the room, the murmur of conversation gave way to a burst of applause. The students stood before their audience and began to sing.
The performance was a festive social gathering as well a fundraiser for the School of Music. Over nearly a decade, Spencer, Lockett, and their guests raised almost $200,000 for scholarships to support music students.
“A lot of people in town didn’t know that there was this exceptional music department,” Spencer said. “We wanted to change that.”
The idea for the salon came to Lockett when her church congregation hosted a TXST guitar student. After inviting 20 people to her home for a fundraising concert in 2015, she called Spencer and pitched the idea of making the event larger. The two had met through Friends of Fine Arts and Communication, a group that supports TXST students studying those fields. Both women’s husbands, the late Joe Lockett and the late Jim Bob Spencer Jr., were active members. The following year, the event moved to Spencer’s house, where it eventually drew an audience of 100.
The hosts matched their guests’ contributions: Lockett offered up to $10,000, and Spencer for several years matched up to $5,000. The funds supported awards of $1,000 to $1,500. The awards also qualified non-Texans for in-state tuition.
Neither woman attended Texas State, but alumni affiliation isn’t necessary to get involved, they noted. Other San Marcos residents can find a way to support the university in ways meaningful to them. “The salon has had a ripple effect,” Spencer added. “That makes Sharon and me feel good.”
★★★
Shari Weber-Munkres
From accounting club to corporate heights, TXST alum aims to inspire
By Anthony Head
Last October, shortly after retiring from a 32-year career at American Express National Bank, Texas State alum Shari Weber-Munkres created the Berkovsky/Moseley Family Legacy Endowed Scholarship through the McCoy College of Business.
Weber-Munkres was motivated partly by her retirement and partly by her experience giving a talk to Texas State’s Women in Business Association.
“It was one of the most fulfilling things I did in the last 15 years of my career,” said Weber-Munkres, who graduated with a bachelor’s in business administration and accounting in 1991.
In her talk, she covered various life and career milestones and pointed out the people and events that helped shape her. “It helped me to retrace my steps, which led to my days in the accounting club. There, I got to meet people in a smaller setting, which sort of took me back to my small-town roots.”
Weber-Munkres was born Shari Moseley in the small town of Shiner and grew up in Lolita, east of Victoria. She said her first days at then-Southwest Texas State were intimidating, but she found camaraderie and inspiration in the Accounting Club.
Weber-Munkres began as an analyst with American Express and spent more than three decades in the areas of audit, compliance management, and risk. At the time of her retirement, she was a senior operational excellence executive for the Fortune 500 company. “After retiring, I find that I’m still learning and engaging, I’m mentoring others as I was mentored,” she said. “I wanted to give back just as I had gained from the Accounting Club.”
The Berkovsky/Moseley Family Legacy Endowed Scholarship provides financial assistance for current business school juniors or seniors who are a graduate of a rural Texas high school and who are actively involved in the Women in Business Association. The first scholarship recipient will be selected in the spring of 2024.
“I have real joy knowing that this money can help them continue pursuing their education,” Weber-Munkres said. “I’m looking forward to hearing the stories of these young people.”
★★★
Mary Nell Hoover
Friend of TXST has donated to support educators for more than 30 years
By Brian Hudgins
As the child of teachers, Mary Nell Hoover has long appreciated the hard work and outsized influence of educators.
“Mom spent all of her career in Texas public schools, and Dad was in secondary education,” said Hoover, who grew up in the Gonzales County community of Harwood. “Those were the days when you were a principal/teacher.”
Though she now lives in Arizona, Hoover has been giving to TXST for more than 30 years, including the establishment of the Nell and Dexter Hoover Endowed Scholarship in Education in honor of her parents. Both of her parents attended Southwest Texas State University.
“I saw the impact my parents made on children,” Hoover said. “That stays with people their whole lives. It was not limited to the classroom. My husband [Vaughn Smith] and I wanted to support young people. Texas State cares about individuals.”
Hoover said the best part about being a donor is her visits to San Marcos to meet scholarship recipients. “While we will leave the scholarship fund assets when we are gone, it is so nice to meet the students now.”
Hoover said she’s received letters from first-generation students who share their thanks. Hoover has a personal tie to the students when she hears about their many years of hard work.
“It took us several years to get the money for the endowed scholarship,” she said. “The sooner you start, the sooner you can hear from people and see what they are doing!” ★