Courtney and Cindy Brien Endowed Presidential Fellowship

Nov 20, 2012 | EPS/EPF

The Courtney and Cindy Brien Endowed Presidential Fellowship was established by the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System on November 20, 2012, to benefit The University of Texas McCombs School of Business. Gift funds were provided by Mr. Courtney R. Brien and Mrs. Cynthia R. Brien.

Courtney and Cindy Brien are graduates of The University of Texas, though they came to the university by different paths. Courtney’s parents were UT graduates, and he always knew he would be a Longhorn. Growing up, he attended several Longhorn football games, and when he couldn’t attend he’d listen to the games on the Humble radio network. He went on to earn a bachelor of science degree in Radio-Television-Film (RTF) from UT in December 1975 and a master of business administration degree in 1981.

Cindy landed at the university after attending both the University of Maryland at Munich and Central Texas College in Killeen.

Cindy and Courtney met through a mutual friend, one of Courtney’s RTF classmates, at a party following Courtney’s very last exam at the university. The couple began dating a few months later and married shortly after Cindy finished her degree in 1977. Their wedding was held on the same date as Cindy’s parents’ and grandparents’ wedding anniversaries.

After almost 30 years living and working in Houston, the couple moved to Sun City in Georgetown and are enjoying golf, meeting new neighbors, making new friends, and traveling frequently. They love to travel and are grateful that they’ve had the opportunity to see so much of the world. Courtney prefers G7 countries while Cindy and her friends have been known to venture to more exotic locales.

Cindy and Courtney gave a scholarship and a fellowship to UT as a means of paying forward the support they’ve received from their parents and families while giving back to the university that brought them together and prepared them for successful careers.

After endowing the scholarship for undergraduate students, the Courtney and Cindy Brien Endowed Presidential Fellowship came into being when the Briens decided they would like to provide similar assistance to students working toward advanced degrees at the McCombs School of Business.

Courtney and Cindy’s fathers served in the military, Cindy’s father for more than 30 years and with multiple tours in Vietnam. Because the Briens acknowledge they would not have had the opportunities they did without the sacrifices made by members of the armed services and their families, their scholarship and fellowship give special consideration to military veterans and their children.

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