Alumnus gift
As a first-generation college student, Larry Stephens began his journey in engineering at The University of Texas at Arlington. During his time as an undergraduate student at UTA he gained the skills and a foundation of knowledge that led to a productive career in aerospace design and engineering management.
Stephens went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering at UTA and currently serves as a member of its College of Engineering Board of Advisors. He has a long history of philanthropic giving to the College and UTA and his most recent gift established the Lawrence Stephens Award for Outstanding Research Achievement, which recognizes a faculty member for achieving a particularly important research or creative accomplishment during the past three years.
“There are several areas of financial need in the College. Undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships are obvious ones and are very much needed. I previously established endowments in those areas, so I was looking to do something different, something less obvious such as encouraging and recognizing our amazing faculty. When I learned about the College faculty awards program, I quickly decided to fund an endowment to permanently provide an honorarium for this award,” Stephens said.
In his current role with Lockheed Martin, Stephens is Director of Engineering Operations responsible for design-to-cost, engineering processes, and best practices. Previously he was Chief Engineer Advanced Programs and Director of Systems Engineering. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Stephens credits a scholarship from a company in his hometown for allowing him to attend UTA, and he understands the struggle that many students face in financing a college education. His philanthropy began by making small annual donations to support the labs of former faculty members as they sought to purchase equipment for their labs. His connection to the College of Engineering has grown over the years and so have his philanthropic investments toward funding student scholarships and providing incentives for faculty excellence.
“UTA and the College of Engineering have been a part of my life for several decades. Much of my career success, and even success in life, is due to the influence UTA had on me. Not just the education, but the relationships and the experiences,” Stephens said. “Giving my money and my time is a way to help others have such success. UTA is a great university on a trajectory to national and international prominence. I feel like I am contributing, in my own modest way, to those accomplishments.”
Stephens is an advocate of giving back, and he encourages others to support the College of Engineering or UTA as they can.
“The most important thing is to get started as soon as you can. Make it a lifelong commitment. Give consistent with your circumstances. If you can, make a large gift. If not, start small and increase your giving each year. It’s a wonderful feeling to see how your financial support helps the College achieve its goals for students and faculty,” he said.