CONTRIBUTOR: C. Gregory (Greg) Harper (MBA ’97), Retired President – Gas Pipelines & Processing for Enbridge, Inc.

BIO: C. Gregory (Greg) Harper has spent his entire career in the energy industry. He has held leadership positions for Enbridge, CenterPoint Energy and Spectra Energy. A native of Owensboro, KY, Harper earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering before completing his MBA with honors from Bauer College. He is actively involved in community service, including educational, industry, professional and arts organizations. He serves as chairman of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America and is a member of the Bauer College Board. He also serves on the executive committee and is a past chair for Theater Under the Stars and has served on the board of directors for BakerRipley, formerly Neighborhood Centers. Harper recently funded a recruiting scholarship for the Bauer MBA program and has contributed to the Bauer Excellence Scholarship.

ESSAY: I look at my investment in the University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business from two angles. The first: paying back into a system that afforded me the opportunity to expand my career and personal objectives by viewing life through a larger prism. The second angle is paying it forward: helping deserving people who also want to enhance their career options, life perspectives, and community responsibility.

Paying Back

I was fortunate on several fronts early on. My parents, raising five children, put us all through college. I earned a mechanical engineering degree while working through each semester and summer break. The engineering coursework gave me a solid technical and critical thinking foundation.

Working odd jobs during my college days definitely provided the incentive to succeed at my studies! Because of that, I can truly appreciate those students who work or participate in college sports, balancing curriculums and expectations that are even more challenging today.

Early in my career, I had mentors who took an interest in me and my lofty ambitions to run a company. They not only encouraged me to get my MBA but eventually sponsored my effort. My Bauer MBA created a solid business foundation, adding financial and management structure to my technical knowledge. With the confidence to take on more demanding and impactful leadership roles, I solidified my path to running a company and creating a broader personal platform to contribute to our community.

Paying It Forward

I am excited about the powerful impact our university has in Greater Houston’s community and economy. Bauer College’s international reach makes an investment in Bauer an investment in the global economy, returning dividends to Houston. While our colleagues from the engineering and science colleges develop innovative technologies, they look to the business world and its leaders to finance, market, and deliver those ideas to the consumers. Bauer delivers those go-to business leaders!

I am hopeful our scholarships will have a multiplier effect, affording recipients a greater ability to accomplish their goals, become great leaders, and generous community contributors... to be difference-makers.

CONTRIBUTOR: Tedric Breed (’08), tax consultant for Ryan

BIO: As a Bauer College student, Tedric Breed was involved — and now, as an alumnus, not much has changed.

During his time in the college’s undergraduate finance program, Breed served as vice president of the Bauer Ambassadors and a member of the African American Honors Student Association, Finance Association and National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

He also worked as a financial planning coordinator for the Bauer College Program for Financial Literacy, helping to coordinate an annual financial symposium for more than 150 attendees, including students, faculty, K-12 educators and principals.

Breed has stayed connected to the college as a donor and is part of the Bauer Dean’s Leadership Associate giving category for the last year. Here, he gives his thoughts on giving back as a recent alumnus.

ESSAY: As an alumnus, it is my duty to give back to the college and do my part in making sure Bauer College can continue to change lives for young adults the way it once did, and still does, for me.

Bauer College has provided me with the skills and tools, as well as the network, I needed to be able make a comfortable living for myself and take care of my family. Everything that a student could possibly need to prosper professionally, Bauer provided to us. I even made some lifelong friends as a result of my time spent as a student. Bauer has given me so much, and the investment that I make back into the college now is just a small token of my gratitude.

I also invest in Bauer because we as alumni of the college have the power to maintain and even strengthen the value of our own degree, so we need to take advantage of it. When you tell someone that you graduated from the Bauer College of Business, you want them to immediately think highly of you and your capabilities based on that fact alone.

In order for that to occur, we as alumni have to continue giving back to the college so that they can have the resources they need to be a first-class academic institution. Having the best facilities, the latest technology, the most distinguished professors, and the best programs are the things that attract talented and motivated individuals to the university. That talent later becomes the teachers, medical physicians, attorneys, accountants, entrepreneurs and other key players that run society.

It is always a great feeling to see someone that is making a significant impact on the world and find out that they too are a Cougar — that makes us all look good. However, those things do not happen if the university does not have the resources it needs to be the best educational institution it can be and if it cannot attract individuals that have the drive to someday be great.

Lastly, the investment into a college by the alumni is a reflection of the quality of the program. Lack of alumni investment communicates that the university did not provide an educational experience that was good enough for people to desire to stay involved, engaged and give back, which again, makes it difficult for the institution to attract the motivated individuals that have the potential to make an impact in our communities and hence raise the value of the degree. Bauer College is an exceptional institution that provided me and many others with an amazing academic experience that will continue to pay off for me from now until forever, and therefore, I want to do my part and more to make sure that the correct message about the college is being communicated to others.

CONTRIBUTOR: Joe Martin (’76), President and Chief Operating Officer at Freedom Innovations, LLC

BIO: Joe Martin is a leader in the medical device industry. After earning a BBA from Bauer College in 1976, he built a career in the sector, ultimately becoming president and COO of Freedom Innovations, which develops world-class lower limb prosthetic solutions in close collaboration with prosthetists and amputees.

Martin’s experience as an undergraduate business student at the University of Houston shaped him as a young professional, giving him experience collaborating with and leading others. Now, he stays connected to Houston and Bauer College by giving back.

ESSAY: There are two primary reasons why I invest in the Bauer College.

First, my experience as an undergraduate at the University of Houston was terrific. I learned in the classroom, on the intramural fields, as a member of my fraternity and in the many organizations in which I participated. These experiences have proved invaluable throughout my career. Consequently, I feel an obligation to give back to the university.

I paid for my education by working throughout my college career. With the ever increasing cost of college and the cost of living in general, I invest in Bauer to help provide financial support to young people who need assistance. Our country and our community is in need of strong leadership now and for the future. Helping young people maximize their college experience will help ensure a bright future for us all. It is for these two simple reasons that I have invested in Bauer. I hope that I will be able to continue to do so.

CONTRIBUTORS: Daniel S. (MS ACCY ’86) and Carol (Med ’89) Crumrine

BIO: Dan and Carol Crumrine are both University of Houston alumni who completed master’s degree programs. As a Bauer College alumnus, Dan Crumrine’s accounting education led him to become vice president and CFO of Fayez Sarofim & Co., an investment and portfolio management firm based in Houston. In addition to supporting Bauer College with his wife as a scholarship donor, Dan Crumrine is a member of the college’s Accounting Advisory Board and served as board president for two years.

ESSAY: My wife Carol and I have been very fortunate in our opportunities and professions. The master’s degree in accountancy I earned at Bauer was the best investment I ever made, and it allowed me to have a career I could only have imagined.

My degree afforded me a choice of job opportunities as soon as I graduated, and I have since enjoyed a successful career that included great employers and partners. The accounting program at Bauer has grown to become a leader in various accounting disciplines by offering the programs and specialized courses that employers look for in recent graduates. The leadership in the accounting program and the entire Bauer College has the commitment to excellence that today’s global business environment requires, as the success of its students proves time and again.

Fulfilling a Need

When we began attending evening classes at the University of Houston in the early 1980s, tuition in the master’s program was $50 per semester. At the time, even with fees, textbooks and commuting costs, this was affordable for two adults raising a family while working full-time. However, with inflation and the reduction of state funding, the cost of a master’s degree has dramatically increased, which has made it inaccessible to some students. While the accountancy profession is rich with opportunities, it requires a master’s degree or equivalent courses in order to obtain the various certifications one needs for a career. I volunteer my time at Bauer to help prepare students for the post-college business environment, and I am continually impressed with their talent and ambition to succeed. We do not want to see students miss the opportunities that await them due to financial circumstances.

Sharing Our Blessings

Without the opportunities we received from our time in the University of Houston master’s program, Carol, a lifetime educator, and I would not have achieved the success or been afforded the blessings that we have today. We place a high value on education and have discussed the best ways to share our blessings with students who strive every day to prove their worth and success.

By offering scholarships to motivated students, we hope to afford them the same opportunities we were fortunate to have in our professions.

We are grateful for the chance to help future professionals enhance and expand their careers, for it is by helping others that we make our community a better place to live.