Philanthropist Harvey Najim has pledged a major $5 million donation to the University of Texas at San Antonio, establishing a vital financial lifeline designed to help low- and middle-income undergraduates cover critical everyday living costs while pursuing their degrees.
Announced by university leadership, the multi-million-dollar gift creates the Harvey Najim Bold Promise Scholarship. The newly established endowment will disburse $500,000 annually over a 10-year timeframe, providing direct supplemental assistance to undergraduates who are already eligible for UTSA's signature tuition-free Bold Promise program.
While the university's existing Bold Promise initiative covers all mandatory academic fees and tuition, Najim’s donation targets the significant non-tuition expenses that frequently create hurdles for college completion. The scholarship funds will assist recipients in paying for off-campus and on-campus housing, grocery and meal costs, required textbooks, and daily transportation needs.
University officials emphasized that addressing these supplementary financial obligations is essential to student well-being and academic achievement. By easing the burden of these fundamental living costs, the scholarship is intended to help students concentrate on their studies rather than taking on extra employment simply to afford subsistence needs.
With this latest contribution, Najim’s cumulative philanthropic support for UT San Antonio has exceeded $25 million. This milestone makes the longtime benefactor one of the most impactful and consequential private donors to student-focused initiatives and academic welfare programs across the university.
Highlighting the transformative nature of higher learning, Najim affirmed his confidence in the UTSA student body in an official statement. He noted that education possesses the power to change lives and reinforce broader communities, adding that seeing the resolve and capability of UT San Antonio students convinced him that every scholar deserves the resources necessary to succeed.
UTSA President Taylor Eighmy praised the major contribution, noting that the gift demonstrates Najim’s deep faith in the capabilities of the institution's scholars and highlights the profound ability of higher education to reshape personal trajectories.
Eighmy added that the generous ten-year pledge reinforces and expands upon the substantial foundation of opportunities Najim has created for scholars across both the university and the broader region, enabling them to build enduring groundwork for their future careers.
To receive support through the new Najim scholarship fund, recipients must satisfy distinct geographic parameters. Eligible students must reside within Bexar County or one of seven designated neighboring counties: Atascosa, Bandera, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina, or Wilson.
Institutional criteria also define who can access the scholarship. The aid is designated for Bold Promise scholars enrolled at UTSA, students attending the UT San Antonio Health Science Center, and transfer students who enter the Bold Promise pipeline after participating in the AlamoPROMISE program within the Alamo Colleges District.
The broader Bold Promise program, which serves as the framework for the new funding, is an institutional guarantee covering 100% of undergraduate tuition and mandatory university fees for four consecutive academic years.
To qualify for baseline Bold Promise coverage, applicants must be Texas residents from families with an annual household income of up to $100,000. Additionally, candidates are required to satisfy the university's standard academic benchmarks established for incoming first-year freshmen or transfer students.
Since its formal rollout in December 2019, the Bold Promise initiative has expanded its scope considerably. When first introduced, the tuition-free pathway was reserved exclusively for incoming first-time freshmen ranked within the top 25% of their graduating high school class whose family household income did not surpass $50,500.
The program was subsequently updated to incorporate eligible transfer students seeking to complete their undergraduate education. In 2024, the University of Texas System further expanded college affordability across the state by raising the household income threshold to $100,000 across all nine of its academic campuses, thereby extending tuition-free eligibility to roughly seven million additional Texas families.
Through these combined efforts and eligibility expansions, the Bold Promise framework has successfully supported more than 5,000 students at UT San Antonio since its inception, dramatically widening institutional access to debt-free degrees.
The newly announced scholarship builds directly upon Najim’s prior philanthropic interventions at UTSA. In the previous year, the donor contributed $1.25 million in collaboration with the San Antonio Food Bank, providing $125,000 annually over a decade to maintain and supply on-campus food pantries at UTSA’s Main Loop 1604 campus and its downtown location.
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