Distinguished alumni of The University of Texas at Austin have shown their support through funds dedicated to the areas of the college that are most important to them. Here are a few of those many funds and the generous alumni and supporters behind them.
David Garcia (B.S. '72, Ph.D. '77) established the Jaime N. Delgado Chair to honor the professor who helped him most throughout his pharmacy career. "In my senior year, he invited me to join his research group as a graduate student," says Garcia. "He not only complimented my academic performance but also my prowess in the laboratory; he said I had 'good hands.'"
Growing up on Seville Street in El Paso, Texas, Garcia went on to serve in the United States Marine Corps. He had initially planned to enroll at UT El Paso in pre-pharmacy, but his interactions with Dr. Delgado convinced him to join the pharmacy program at UT Austin, nine hours east. As a young Hispanic man from far west Texas, the University's climate in the late 1960s did not always feel welcoming. "If it had not been for Dr. Delgado," he says, "I probably would have gone elsewhere to complete the pharmacy degree." Delgado encouraged him not only to earn his pharmacy degree at UT but also pursue a graduate degree.
As a successful business owner, Garcia encourages students pursuing pharmacy to consider graduate school and entrepreneurship, especially for those who aren't risk-averse. "Creating a business is not a 'crapshoot' if you do your homework! Life is short, much too short!"
The Yolanda Laurel Swope Excellence Fund grew from a long, multigenerational line of Texas Pharmacy alumni: the Laurels of Laredo, Texas. No fewer than ten members of the Laurel family have graduated from the college, which already had a tradition of long-established support funds. "My sister, Yolanda Laurel Swope (B.S. '68), loved supporting the College of Pharmacy with scholarships for students," says Nora Francis (B.S. '80), who established the fund in her sister's honor. "In 1997, Yolanda asked the family to start a scholarship in honor of our parents—the Alonzo Z. Laurel and Esther G. Laurel Endowed Presidential Scholarship. This scholarship supports future pharmacists from south Texas in their pursuit of higher education. We then endowed a second scholarship—the Laurel Sisters—for the next generation of budding professionals."
Nora was the youngest of seven siblings and the fifth and final Laurel sister to attend Texas Pharmacy. "Truth be told, my forte was not chemistry or math," says Francis. "I knew they were taking a chance on me given my grades, and I promised I would be the last of my family to apply to pharmacy school."
When Yolanda passed away in 2023, Nora wanted to ensure a UT College of Pharmacy scholarship would honor her sister. "Yolanda would say that becoming a pharmacist was one of the best decisions she ever made. I felt the same. Pharmacy has always challenged me," she says. "I want to provide for students while honoring Yolanda's legacy and her love of the profession at her alma mater. Society needs pharmacists with a passion for helping others. I want to help students achieve their goal by giving in honor of Yolanda, who was my beloved sister and mentor in many ways."
Mike Lester (B.S. '79) has long combined his pharmacy training with a deep entrepreneurial drive to innovate in health care and business. After earning his pharmacy degree, he built a distinguished career launching and growing multiple healthcare and life sciences companies—from infusion therapy and clinical research to wound care and behavioral health—always motivated by the idea that pharmacy education can unlock wide ranging opportunities beyond traditional practice. His professional success and spirited belief in innovation have made him a strong advocate for entrepreneurial thinking within the pharmacy profession.
Lester's commitment to the College of Pharmacy is embodied in the Lester Entrepreneurial Scholars Program, an initiative he helped establish to nurture entrepreneurial leadership and creative problem-solving among UT pharmacy students. This program encourages students to develop innovative healthcare ideas and equips them with experiential learning, mentorship and resources to grow those ideas into impactful products or services.
Through ongoing engagement and planned philanthropic contributions, Mike expands opportunities for future pharmacists to blend clinical knowledge with business acumen.
The Ruiz-Garza-Frei Professorship is the first of its kind to specifically support the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Translational Sciences (PTSCI), the college division housed entirely in San Antonio. Created by alumni Rene Garza (Pharm.D. '03) and Andy Ruiz (Pharm.D. '08, M.S. '10), the two came from different backgrounds but joined forces to support the division and college.
Ruiz, who began as a ranch hand and civil construction laborer, credits division head Christopher Frei (Pharm.D. '01, M.S. '03) with both his own success and the creation of the professorship. "His selfless and relentless caring was the perfect model of how to be successful," says Ruiz. "Dr. Frei took me into his lab as his postdoc student to guide and mentor me. At that time, no one else would give me an opportunity." As for his aspirations for the fund, Ruiz hopes to provide resources to continue the division's great work. "I hope they continue to inspire and shape the future. Make no mistake—this is exactly what this division does."
For Garza, the decision to attend Texas Pharmacy was shaped by legacy and opportunity. "My father was a UT pharmacy graduate," he says, "and I grew up seeing the impact of his career and the pride he had in the program." Garza describes his experience at UT as transformative: "The program was rigorous and rewarding, but it also provided unique opportunities that allowed me to grow exponentially," he says. "Strong mentorship, innovative teaching and research opportunities shaped me into the pharmacist I am today." Garza hopes to honor his family legacy with this professorship and to "give faculty and students the resources they need to push boundaries and translate discoveries into better outcomes for patients."
This article was written by Nick Nobel and Brynn Huysman as part of the Spring 2026 edition of Focus—the magazine of the The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy.