September 4, 2014

Maria and Michael McEvoy ’79 have created an MBA Fellowship fund at Mays Business School to support veterans enrolling in the Mays MBA program.

Texas A&M University and its Full-Time MBA program are dear to the hearts of Kevin McEvoy and his wife Maria, so they wanted to assist students enrolled in the program. They committed a $300,000 gift to establish the Maria B. and Michael K. McEvoy ’79 MBA Fellowship fund at Mays Business School to support veterans enrolling in the Mays MBA program.  

One motivation for the gift was the military friendliness of Texas A&M University in general and the Full-Time MBA program in particular, said Kevin McEvoy. As president and CEO of Oceaneering International, he frequently hires veterans. “What we especially liked about this was the opportunity to support a veteran of our armed forces transition to a good civilian job.”

Kevin McEvoy received an MBA from Texas A&M in May 1979. Prior to that, he received bachelor’s degrees in biology and geology from Brown University and then he served in the U.S. Navy – starting his 40-year career in offshore-related endeavors in 1972. While he was earning his MBA, he worked at the Hyberbaric Physiology Research Laboratory at Texas A&M.

“Our Full-Time MBA students are relocating to College Station, and entering a demanding program that does not lend itself to part-time employment,” said Mays Dean Jerry Strawser. “This makes financial support for our students extremely important. We are so grateful to Maria and Kevin for their generosity. The fact that they have expressed an interest in supporting veterans makes an already special gift even more meaningful.”

Kevin McEvoy said this is the first time he and his wife have directed their charitable giving to an educational institution. They felt called to do so because the cause was so worthwhile, he said.  Besides, the McEvoys are surrounded by Aggies, including two of their sons and a daughter-in-law. “We wanted to give to Texas A&M because we appreciate the quality of its programs and the positive impact its graduates have had in our family, community and business interactions,” he said.

Texas A&M Foundation 
The Texas A&M Foundation is a nonprofit organization that solicits and manages investments in academics and leadership programs to enhance Texas A&M’s capability to be among the best universities.