Pair pledges gift to fund several Texas A&M endowments

M. Ann and Charles P. ’82 Manning have committed gifts to Mays Business School, two other Texas A&M University colleges and the 12^th Man Foundation. The funds for the gifts will be generated through a retirement account and a revocable living trust.

“Because Ann and I have had successful careers, we wanted our estate to include support for organizations we feel contributed to that success. Texas A&M certainly fit that bill,” Charles Manning said.

Manning preferred not to disclose the total amount, but he did say the “lion’s share” will go to Mays to establish the M. Ann and Charles P. Manning ’82 Dean’s Excellence Endowment at Mays. Similar endowments will be created at Texas A&M’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Veterinary Medicine and the 12^th Man Foundation.

“We wanted the funds to be discretionary because it is so far in advance — decades, we hope — that we couldn’t presuppose the needs,” Manning said. “We don’t know much about educating young students, but we were impressed when talking to the deans of the diversity of needs for financial support. We concluded the deans are in the best position to give wise allocation to the annual distributions, and believe it will accomplish very worthy goals.”

The Mannings live in Austin. Charles received a bachelor’s degree in finance and retired in 2008 from a career in banking technology. Ann received a bachelor’s degree in accounting and marketing from Marietta College and a Juris Doctor degree from Ohio Northern University.

“The Mannings’ most generous commitment to our School will impact our students in so many ways,” said Mays Dean Jerry Strawser. “With the flexibility they have provided to our School, it can support student scholarships, study abroad opportunities, student travel to competitions, and faculty teaching and research activities. As education and outside-of-class opportunities continue to evolve, the ability of their gift to support current and future needs makes the impact of this already generous commitment even more significant.”