SUGAR LAND’S BRIJ AND SUNITA AGRAWAL
PLEDGE $100K FOR NEW UHSSL BUILDING
Gift Will Help Fund Facility to Be Shared with Wharton Community
Junior College
HOUSTON, Oct. 7, 2005 – Sugar Land residents Brij and Sunita
Agrawal have pledged $100,000 to the University of Houston System
at Sugar Land expansion project. In recognition of their gift, the
family will name a room in the new 145,000-square-foot building
that will be shared with Wharton County Junior College.
Brij Agrawal is a 1988 alumnus of the University of Houston Cullen
College of Engineering and is the president of VKC I, L.P., a firm
that owns 32 Subway franchises in the Houston area. He also serves
as chairman of the Subway Franchisee Advertisement Fund Trust of
Houston and is a director for Independent Purchasing Cooperative,
a SUBWAY Franchisee Owned Organization.
The Agrawals announced the gift at a Sept. 30 reception with UH-Victoria
President Tim Hudson, Wharton Mayor and Wharton County Junior College
Vice President of Financial Service Bryce D. Kocian Wharton, UH
System at Sugar Land Director Susan Reynolds, and Fluor Corporation
Vice President Mike Piwetz, who leads the UHSSL Building Futures
Together Campaign Committee. Brij Agrawal also serves on this committee.
“The Agrawal family has been loyal and committed supporters
of the UH System and higher education. This recent gift from Brij
and Sunita Agrawal is testament to their support of our Sugar Land
teaching center and its programs, and will advance the construction
of a second building on this ever-expanding campus,” said
Leroy Hermes, chairman of the UH System board of regents.
The new $30 million building will be funded through private and
public funds, and funding is already being sought through a coalition
of strongly motivated partners. The George Foundation has given
$4 million to the project, and other large gifts are being finalized.
“I would never be where I am today if it had not been for
the education I got at the University of Houston,” commented
Brij Agrawal, who came to Houston from India at the age of 17 and
attended night school at UH while working full-time. “UH provided
me with the platform to do what I am doing now.” His wife,
Sunita, added that the Sugar Land campus provides a great opportunity
for students in the Fort Bend region to receive a quality education.
“The Agrawals are an inspiration to all of us – now
and for many generations to come,” said UH-Victoria President
Hudson. “They have clearly demonstrated their commitment to
this community and to UH System at Sugar Land, and for that we are
truly grateful.”
Wharton mayor and WCJC Vice-President Bryce Kocian said, “Wharton
County Junior College is thrilled that the Agrawals are supporting
this joint project. We appreciate their support of higher education
and welcome them as our educational partners.”
A total of 66 new classrooms of various sizes are projected for
the new building, as well as a performance hall/auditorium, computer
labs, science laboratories and nursing skills laboratories. The
new classrooms will provide seating for approximately 2,500 students.
The building will also provide faculty offices, a bookstore, weight
rooms, a student lounge, and a food court. The current facility,
the Albert and Mamie George Building, will serve as an instructional
site and as the administrative headquarters for UHSSL and WCJC.
Note: A photo is available at: http://www.uh.edu/admin/media/nr/2005/10oct/100505checkpres.html.
A high resolution version is available from Eric Gerber (contact
information above).
ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SYSTEM AT SUGAR LAND
The University of Houston System at Sugar Land is a teaching center
that offers junior, senior and graduate courses leading to more
than thirty bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the
four UH System Universities (University of Houston, UH-Clear Lake,
UH-Downtown, and UH-Victoria). Established in 1996, UHSSL is located
north of the Brazos River on U.S. 59 South at University Boulevard
and serves those who live and work in Fort Bend County. UHSSL offers
multiple methods of instruction including face-to-face, instructional
television, online, broadcast TV, and videotape purchase
ABOUT WHARTON COUNTY JUNIOR COLLEGE
Wharton County Junior College, a public, two-year, comprehensive
community college, enrolls about 11,060 students per year. The college
offers a wide range of postsecondary educational programs, including
an Associate in Arts degree, Associate in Applied Science degrees,
certificate and certification programs, distance learning programs,
continuing education programs, and workforce development programs.
The college operates three campuses in Sugar Land, Richmond, and
Wharton, with extension centers in Bay City, El Campo, and Palacios
For more information about UH visit the universitys Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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