Awards presented for leadership, philanthropy

Karen Barbier
Contributing Writer
UHCL Office of Communications
University of Houston-Clear Lake President William A. Staples thanked university friends, faculty and staff during his annual President’s Cabinet Dinner in late February. During the evening dinner, he presented the President’s Cabinet Leadership Award to university friends Satish and Kamlesh Agarwal, while the 2013 President’s Cabinet Philanthropy Award was presented to UHCL alumna Sheryl Lightfoot Johns.

Associate Vice President for University Advancement Dion McInnis welcomed guests and thanked them on behalf of the university, reminding them of the importance of their contributions.

“Your support of UH-Clear Lake makes a real difference,” said Associate Vice President for University Advancement Dion McInnis. “The university is not just in the education business, it’s in the life-changing business.”

President William A. Staples addressed the group shortly before presenting the two awards for the evening.

“We are about to embark on the second biggest change at the university since its opening in 1974 when we begin welcoming freshman and sophomore students to the university in fall 2014,” said Staples. “It is probably safe to say that within six years our student body will number more than 10,000 a semester.”

He spoke about upcoming changes as the university prepares for the new students and also announced the recent $1 million grant that the university received from Houston Endowment to assist with the four-year initiative. Other highlights in his speech included the activities of student groups who, as Staples said “get it” when it comes to giving back to the community and mentioned the Student Government Association food drive, a Beta Alpha Psi and Accounting Association blood drive and the Student Council for Exceptional Children fair for developmentally challenged children.

He then presented the awards to the Agarwals and Johns.

Born in India, the Agarwals learned strong family values from their hard-working parents while growing up in close-knit families. They carried these values to the states in 1981 and have shared them through gifts offered as scholarships at UHCL. A retired accounting controller from a refinery maintenance company and retired child care assistant, Satish and Kamlesh’s generosity has extended to several area non-profit organizations as well. The couple was drawn to giving to UHCL when their niece studied at the university and told her aunt and uncle how financial assistance through a scholarship endowment had helped her complete her education and, consequently, helped her find a job she enjoys.

Johns’ commitment to her alma mater has been generous and sustained over the years. After earning her Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 1986, she helped establish an endowed scholarship for the accounting program in the university’s School of Business. As the primary donor to that initiative, the endowment now carries her name: The Lightfoot/Johns Family Accounting Scholarship Endowment. She currently serves as the executive vice president of Houston Endowment Inc., and proudly proclaims her allegiance to, and respect for, her alma mater in the community. When discussing UHCL, she is quick to say how the university was there for her when she needed to develop her career, and she likes to “be there” for the university as a sign of her appreciation.

“UH-Clear Lake changes people’s lives,” said Johns. “It certainly changed mine.”

For more information about UHCL’s President’s Cabinet, contact the Office of University Advancement by calling 281-283-2021.

To learn more about being a part of the first freshman and sophomore classes at UHCL, visit http://www.uhcl.edu/admissions.