The Eller College of Business and Public Administration is the recipient of a generous $8.2 million scholarship gift from the Roy F. and Joanne Cole Mitte Foundation of Austin, Texas. The Mitte gift is the largest scholarship gift in The University of Arizona's history and will grow even larger thanks to a dollar-for-dollar matching pledge from the Eller College.

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Beginning in the fall of 2005, 75 scholarships – 60 undergraduate scholarships and 15 graduate scholarships of $5000 each – will be matched dollar for dollar from University and private resources. The Mitte Scholarship Program will benefit 3000 Eller College students by the year 2025.

"Private sector investments such as this are critical to the future success of public education, " said Eller College dean Mark Zupan. "It's fairly atypical to get this kind of scholarship support, especially for undergraduate education."

The Mitte Foundation has made educational contributions totaling nearly $70 million since its establishment five years ago and the Mitte scholarship gift places the Eller College among an elite group of business schools. The Eller gift was part of $30 million split among the UA, Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and the University of Texas McCombs School of Business.

Previous Mitte recipients include Penn State's Smeal College, Ohio State's Fisher School, Texas A&M's Lowry Mays School, and Southwest Texas State University.

Hailing from Austin, Texas, the Mitte family has roots in insurance and real estate. In 1959, Roy Mitte began selling insurance for Aetna Life and Casualty Co. He and his family then moved to Norfolk, Va., where he joined Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. Over the next decade, he built his business into one of the most successful agencies in Lincoln's history. His unprecedented success led him to form his own insurance operation, Financial Industries Corporation, a publicly traded company. Today, he enjoys his company as Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO.

In 1997, Roy and his wife, Joann, a native of Bertram, Texas and a retired, skilled elementary education teacher, founded the Mitte Foundation, a Texas nonprofit corporation. Their son, Scott, became Executive Director of the Foundation in October 1999. Since then, Scott Mitte has become very active not only in the academic field, but in the Central Texas community, joining many boards of directors including Family Eldercare, Habitat for Humanity, and Meals on Wheels.

One of the cornerstones of the Foundation is community service. Mitte Scholars will be expected to participate in projects outside the University as well as hold a leadership position in at least one Eller College or UA student organization.

"Beyond academic excellence, applicants will be evaluated on their record of community service and their willingness to commit to community projects," Zupan said.

"We want students to be well-rounded," Scott Mitte said. They should be stewards on and off campus."

The Mitte Foundation selects schools they believe align with the Foundation's vision and goals. In fact, Scott has visited nearly 60 campuses and met with almost 2,000 students in his time with the Foundation. He visited the UA campus last year.

He obviously liked what he experienced with UA students, faculty and administrators at the Eller College, because shortly thereafter, the Eller College was informed that it had been selected to receive the prestigious Mitte Scholarship grant.

In recognition, The Eller College will name its Honors program the Mitte Honors Program. Mitte partner schools will also host case competition and policy forums from time to time. Scholars, faculty, and staff at the partner schools will collaborate on many dimensions.

In addition, the UA's state-of-the-art TeleSuite videoconferencing technology will link the Foundation to Eller Mitte Scholars, enabling students to interact with renowned speakers and business leaders. "It's still new technology," Zupan said. "It could be something for other schools to employ."

All of this is made possible through the success and generosity of the Mittes. Roy Mitte's push into the insurance field reached great heights and today, the companies have combined assets of more than $1.4 billion.

"The Mitte family story is inspirational," Zupan said. "They built a family fortune and have the willingness to give back, both to Texas and to the rest of the country."