Transformative $5M donation establishes Carolyn J. Keating Center for Academic and Career Success

Lamar University is set to usher in a new era of academic excellence and national prominence, thanks to a transformative $5 million donation from Mrs. Carolyn J. Keating.

“This gift sets a new standard for giving, as the Lamar University Keating Center will foster profound change and reach beyond the campus to stimulate economic growth and improve lives across the region,” Lamar University President Jaime Taylor said. 

The generous benefaction has led to the establishment of the Carolyn J. Keating Center for Academic and Career Success in the College of Engineering.

“At Lamar University, we are proud of our engineers, and appreciate the support of Mrs. Keating as we begin our second 100 years of graduating talented and enthusiastic engineers who will lead us into our shared future,” Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dann Brown said.

At the heart of the Keating Center's mission is the establishment of a hub for student success, with a strategic focus on promoting the development of crucial skills. Foremost among these is the commitment to nurturing career-ready graduates. This initiative aims to ensure that Lamar University students completing their degrees emerge as the best-prepared individuals among their peers, seamlessly transitioning into the workforce.

The center will also focus on helping students develop essential communication skills, both written and oral, in collaboration with the university's English and Modern Languages department, as well as the Communication and Media department.

Keating is an alumna of Lamar University, graduating in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Her late husband, Thomas J. Keating, also an alumnus from the class of 1967, holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering. 

Since the 1960s, the Keating family has supported Lamar University through various initiatives including the establishment of endowed scholarships such as the Dr. David G. Gates Scholarship in Industrial Engineering, the Thomas Joseph “Tom” Keating Memorial Scholarship in Industrial Engineering, and the Carolyn J. Keating Scholarship in English.

The Carolyn J. Keating Center for Academic and Career Success in the College of Engineering will further solidify the family's commitment to the university's excellence.

“This is an endowment. And if you make an endowment gift, let me tell you, you believe in the future. So, I specifically believe in the future of Lamar University,” Keating said. “There's excellence here at Lamar. Lamar is scrappy and alive. Lamar has an unwavering lock on elevating the good that they already do. This clarity of purpose is so refreshing and inspiring and has to do with doing a good job on every ordinary day, and I'm so proud to be a part of it.”

For more information on establishing an establishing an endowment, visit http://www.lamar.edu/advancement/foundation.