UFCU and ACC Celebrate Historic Scholarship Endowment and Break Ground on New UFCU Pavilion at ACC Highland Campus

AUSTIN, Texas, March 30, 2023 — UFCU and Austin Community College District (ACC), along with more than 100 community members and leaders, came together to celebrate the groundbreaking of the UFCU Pavilion at the ACC Highland Campus, which is named in honor of the $5 million scholarship endowment UFCU presented to ACC in 2022.

The donation represents a historic, defining moment between UFCU and ACC and is the single largest gift to student scholarships in the college’s 50-year history. The $5 million endowment directly benefits the Career Scholars program, which will cover all tuition and fees and provide support to hardworking students.

“ACC and UFCU overlap in our missions in so many ways. We are both in the business of helping people, and we are both passionate about furthering education and changing lives,” said UFCU CEO and President Michael Crowl. “Life happens, and we do not want that to stop someone from building or advancing their career. Through this endowment, we can help give people the tools they need, especially the financial education programs, so they can achieve their financial goals and dreams and truly be financially healthy.”

“We know paying for college is one of the biggest hurdles students face. With the support of UFCU, we’re taking some of that burden away and helping students stay on track and achieve their dreams,” said ACC Chancellor Dr. Richard Rhodes.

Support services offered through the endowment and Career Scholars program include scholarship and financial aid application assistance, tutoring and academic support, job search and résumé guidance, and help to navigate and understand personal finances, allowing students to focus on their academics and achieving their career aspirations.

“College can be expensive. Scholarships are given to you to help pay for other things in life, such as rent, which I had to pay for, and food, which can add up when you are trying to go to school and can’t work as much,” said Wolfgang Burst, ACC student and scholarship recipient.

The UFCU Pavilion is the focal point of the new 2.5-acre St. John Encampment Commons Park. Named in recognition of the St. John’s Orphan Home, an African American school that once stood on the site in the early 1900s, the park is located on the northeast side of ACC Highland.

The park will function as a public space where students and the community can gather to learn, relax, and convene, and the pavilion will provide an event and performance space that can host thousands of guests.

“90 years ago, UFCU was founded by university faculty and staff. To this day, our organization’s mission is deeply rooted in helping people achieve their dreams through education,” said Crowl. “ACC serves a vital role in this community and the lives of hundreds of thousands of Central Texans by providing affordable and accessible pathways for people to achieve their goals, and we are proud to be a partner in bringing those goals and dreams to life.”

The UFCU Pavilion and St. John Encampment Commons spaces are expected to open in the summer of 2023.

Images from the UFCU Pavilion Groundbreaking

About UFCU
As a Member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative, UFCU is passionate about helping people and their Members improve their lives to create a financially healthy community. With more than 361,000 Members in Central Texas and Galveston County and total assets under management of $4.5 billion, UFCU offers a variety of products, services, and education programs to empower Members in achieving financial health.