$25 million gift to university from the Malú and Carlos Alvarez family aims to transform the institution’s arts and humanities programs

Trinity University in San Antonio has received a landmark gift of $25 million from the Malú and Carlos Alvarez Family, a commitment that will transform the institution’s arts and humanities programs.

In recognition of this extraordinary generosity, the university will establish the Carlos Alvarez School of Arts and Humanities, dedicating new resources to students, faculty, and creative programming.

The gift is one of the most significant in Trinity’s history and is being celebrated as a forward-looking investment in the liberal arts—the very heart of the university’s mission.

The funds will endow the dean’s position, expand scholarships, support undergraduate research and internships, establish term professorships, launch new interdisciplinary and community-engaged initiatives, and create a flexible fund to spark innovation across the arts and humanities.

This milestone builds on a long-standing relationship between the Alvarez family and Trinity. For more than two decades, their philanthropy has enriched the Mexico, the Americas, and Spain (MAS) Program, supported visiting scholars and artists, endowed global programming, and strengthened connections across language, culture, and the humanities.

The new gift reflects a desire not only to build upon this legacy but to elevate it into a lasting transformation for future generations.

Carlos Alvarez’s own journey—from immigrating to the United States after earning his engineering degree in Monterrey, to building a business empire that introduced Corona beer to the U.S. market and revitalized Spoetzl Brewery, home of Shiner Beer—illustrates the power of vision and determination.

His success has fueled a philanthropic approach that emphasizes education, culture, and opportunity, with a particular focus on opening doors for those who might not otherwise have access.

At the University of Texas at San Antonio, Carlos and Malú Alvarez have already left an indelible mark through a $20 million gift to the College of Business—the first named college at UTSA and the first business school in the University of Texas system to carry the name of a Latino.

That commitment, along with earlier contributions totaling more than $7 million, has created scholarships, fellowships, and programmatic support that have shaped opportunities for countless students.

Throughout these efforts, the Alvarezes have been recognized for their deep belief in the transformative power of education and their dedication to fostering excellence with humility and generosity.

Their new gift to Trinity extends this vision even further, ensuring that the arts, culture, and humanities flourish alongside the sciences and professional studies.

For Trinity and its community, this moment signals the beginning of a new chapter—one in which students of drama, literature, philosophy, languages, visual arts, and cultural studies will thrive with resources and recognition that honor their creativity, curiosity, and impact on the world.