Wachovia launches Signature Lecture Series with $90,000 gift

A $90,000 gift from Wachovia Bank launched the College of Business ’ new Signature Speaker Series Nov. 17 with what proved to be a very successful inaugural lecture by Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo!. Yang spoke to a crowd of 400 business alumni, friends and community leaders at the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel, with all proceeds from the event benefiting student scholarships and programs in the College of Business.

“Supporting the Signature Speaker Series is an excellent way for Wachovia to achieve its goal of becoming involved in the communities where we do business,” said Mark Metcalfe, president of Wachovia’s San Antonio Region.

Following Yang’s remarks, the College of Business honored two individuals who have lent tremendous support to the College – Jim Kahan, senior executive vice president of AT&T and chairman of the College of Business Advisory Council , and Advisory Council former chair Ernest Bromley, president and CEO of Bromley Communications.

Kahan received the COB’s Leadership and Service Award. A member of the Advisory Council since 1994 and chairman since 2002, Kahan has demonstrated continued leadership and service to the College of Business. A Missouri native, he led the successful fundraising efforts to create a $1 million endowed chair for infrastructure assurance and security in the College.

Bromley was presented the College’s Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award. President and CEO of Bromley Communications, the leading Hispanic advertising agency in the country, he has been a trailblazer in building the agency and empowering clients such as Procter & Gamble, Burger King, Continental Airlines, Coors, the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau, Nestle Foods and Nationwide in the changing American marketplace. He has been on the College of Business Advisory Council since 1991 and served as chair from 1999-2002. Along with his wife, Aimée, he established a scholarship in support of graduate business students. He received his bachelor of arts degree in political science and a master of business administration, both from UTSA.

“The Signature Speaker Series provided a first-class opportunity for the San Antonio community to hear from a nationally recognized business leaders and to showcase UTSA and the College of Business,” said COB Dean Lynda de la Viña. “We have just launched a strategic plan to raise the academic profile of the college to become one of the nation’s best business schools. This complements UTSA President Ricardo Romo’s mission to make UTSA Texas’ next Tier One research university.”

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