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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Contact: Eric Gerber |
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Gift Will Help Fund Facility to Be Shared with Wharton Community Junior College HOUSTON, Oct. 7, 2005 – Sugar Land residents Brij and Sunita Agrawal have pledged $100,000 to the University of Houston System at Sugar Land expansion project. In recognition of their gift, the family will name a room in the new 145,000-square-foot building that will be shared with Wharton County Junior College. Brij Agrawal is a 1988 alumnus of the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering and is the president of VKC I, L.P., a firm that owns 32 Subway franchises in the Houston area. He also serves as chairman of the Subway Franchisee Advertisement Fund Trust of Houston and is a director for Independent Purchasing Cooperative, a SUBWAY Franchisee Owned Organization. The Agrawals announced the gift at a Sept. 30 reception with UH-Victoria President Tim Hudson, Wharton Mayor and Wharton County Junior College Vice President of Financial Service Bryce D. Kocian Wharton, UH System at Sugar Land Director Susan Reynolds, and Fluor Corporation Vice President Mike Piwetz, who leads the UHSSL Building Futures Together Campaign Committee. Brij Agrawal also serves on this committee. “The Agrawal family has been loyal and committed supporters of the UH System and higher education. This recent gift from Brij and Sunita Agrawal is testament to their support of our Sugar Land teaching center and its programs, and will advance the construction of a second building on this ever-expanding campus,” said Leroy Hermes, chairman of the UH System board of regents. The new $30 million building will be funded through private and public funds, and funding is already being sought through a coalition of strongly motivated partners. The George Foundation has given $4 million to the project, and other large gifts are being finalized. “I would never be where I am today if it had not been for the education I got at the University of Houston,” commented Brij Agrawal, who came to Houston from India at the age of 17 and attended night school at UH while working full-time. “UH provided me with the platform to do what I am doing now.” His wife, Sunita, added that the Sugar Land campus provides a great opportunity for students in the Fort Bend region to receive a quality education. “The Agrawals are an inspiration to all of us – now and for many generations to come,” said UH-Victoria President Hudson. “They have clearly demonstrated their commitment to this community and to UH System at Sugar Land, and for that we are truly grateful.” Wharton mayor and WCJC Vice-President Bryce Kocian said, “Wharton County Junior College is thrilled that the Agrawals are supporting this joint project. We appreciate their support of higher education and welcome them as our educational partners.” A total of 66 new classrooms of various sizes are projected for the new building, as well as a performance hall/auditorium, computer labs, science laboratories and nursing skills laboratories. The new classrooms will provide seating for approximately 2,500 students. The building will also provide faculty offices, a bookstore, weight rooms, a student lounge, and a food court. The current facility, the Albert and Mamie George Building, will serve as an instructional site and as the administrative headquarters for UHSSL and WCJC. Note: A photo is available at: http://www.uh.edu/admin/media/nr/2005/10oct/100505checkpres.html. ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SYSTEM AT SUGAR LAND ABOUT WHARTON COUNTY JUNIOR COLLEGE For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom. |
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