The University of Texas at San Antonio has received a $7 million gift commitment from longtime philanthropic supporter and former AT&T CEO Ed Whitacre and his wife Linda Whitacre to advance research, student success and athletics.

The Whitacres have made a transformational $5 million commitment to honor the late William L. Henrich, MD, former president of UT Health San Antonio, whose visionary leadership and unwavering compassion shaped the university for more than a decade.

The gift will advance the institution’s nationally recognized expertise in metabolic health — an area of research and clinical care that includes diabetes, obesity and related conditions that profoundly affect longevity and quality of life. This investment will fuel groundbreaking discovery aimed at confronting the region’s diabetes crisis, where one in six South Texans lives with the disease, and will further strengthen UT Health San Antonio’s role as a leader in improving health outcomes for the communities it serves.

An additional $2 million commitment from the Whitacres will support the Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design and UTSA Athletics.

Speakers highlighted the GCC’s resilience and reforms as key factors in maintaining an advantage amid uneven global growth; Leaders agreed that while technology is advancing rapidly, judgment, capital allocation and governance are increasingly determining who pulls ahead and who falls behind in a K-shaped global economy; Discussions explored how compressed decision cycles are reshaping organisations and investment models, with direct implications for talent pipelines, junior roles and the future structure of work; Family offices emerged as a focal point, as intergenerational transitions drive a shift from wealth preservation toward private assets, direct ownership and venture building.