Janet Handley '76
Gifts From Within
This is the fourth in a series of articles on Texas A&M Foundation employees who are committed to giving back to Texas A&M University .
As vice president for investments for the Texas A&M Foundation, Janet Handley ’76 ensures that the Foundation’s investments get the most bang for their buck. But she also makes personal financial decisions that affect Texas A&M University by giving back.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematical science in 1975, Handley worked for Shell Oil for more than a decade in information technology and exploration and production, and later as head of equities for Shell’s Pension Trust Investment Group. After leaving Shell, Handley joined the Foundation in 2001.
“It was the perfect decision, especially since I could continue working in the investments realm,” she said. “The Foundation is populated with high-quality staff who do purposeful work for the university, and I am proud to play a part in that mission.”
Just two years after joining the Foundation, Handley gave a gift of her own. In 2003, she and her late husband James Bade established a $40,000 endowed Foundation Excellence Award that annually provides students with stipends to fund their Texas A&M education.
“I am a big believer in the power of education and in the old adage of teaching people how to fish so they can become productive members of society,” Handley said.
In addition to supporting The Association of Former Students and the 12th Man Foundation, Handley and her mother Lillian also established the Vicki L. and Robert Handley ’67 Corps of Cadets 21st Century Scholarship in 2010.
Inspired by her brother Bob’s decision to endow scholarships commemorating fellow classmates who died in the Vietnam War, the mother-daughter pair endowed a scholarship in Bob’s name. Their $50,000 gift was matched by the Doug Pitcock ’49 Corps of Cadets Scholarship Matching Fund, making the total endowment $100,000.
“My hope is students who receive these scholarships have the opportunity to attend Texas A&M regardless of their financial situation,” Handley said.