$30 million naming gift from Miguel Loya redefines engineering education at university

In a landmark moment for higher education in West Texas, the University of Texas at El Paso has received the largest philanthropic gift in its history — a $30 million donation from alumnus and global energy executive Miguel A. Loya.

In recognition of the gift, the university has renamed its engineering college the Miguel A. Loya College of Engineering, signaling both gratitude and a transformational new chapter for the institution and region alike.

Born and raised in El Paso, Loya’s journey embodies the kind of intergenerational opportunity that universities like UTEP were built to create.

The son of parents who did not attend high school, Loya was the first of eight siblings to earn a college degree — a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from UTEP in 1977 — followed by an MBA from Harvard University just two years later. That foundation became the launchpad for an extraordinary career at the pinnacle of the global energy sector.

After early roles with Esso Eastern, Tenneco Oil, and Transworld Oil, Loya rose to lead Vitol, Inc., the North American arm of the Vitol Group, one of the world’s largest independent energy trading companies.

Now, decades after that first walk across the El Paso campus, Loya is reshaping engineering education for the next generation of UTEP students through his record-setting gift.

“This university had an extraordinary impact on my life and trajectory,” Loya said during the announcement ceremony on February 5. “I am thrilled to be able to give back and support future Miners on their own journeys.”

The centerpiece of the donation will establish the Miguel A. Loya Scholarship Program, designed to be one of the most comprehensive scholarship opportunities in American engineering education.

Beginning in Fall 2027, the program will recruit and support top-tier engineering students through full tuition coverage, housing, meal plans, and monthly stipends — offering what amounts to a complete, debt-free collegiate experience for its scholars. It goes further still: graduating Loya Scholars who achieve the highest honors will receive an additional award of up to $30,000 upon completing their degrees.

Applications for the inaugural Loya Scholar cohort will open in Fall 2026, setting the stage for UTEP to become an elite magnet for the brightest minds in engineering.

UTEP President Heather Wilson hailed the contribution as “transformational,” saying, “This gift from Miguel Loya will be one of the most generous in the nation and will support the best students who want to become engineers. It will transform lives for generations to come.”

University of Texas System Chancellor John M. Zerwas called Loya’s vision “rare” within higher education. “Mike Loya’s unique design of this scholarship program sends a strong and compelling message to aspiring engineers: this is their place,” he said. “UTEP will forever be a national destination institution for top engineering students.”

UTEP’s Dean of Engineering, Kenith Meissner, emphasized that the gift accelerates the college’s already deep culture of engineering excellence. “Our graduates compete with the best engineers anywhere,” Meissner said. “The Loya Scholarship will strengthen what’s core to our mission — developing leaders who drive innovation and embody academic, technical, and ethical distinction.”

The endowed program will fund scholarships, experiential learning opportunities, and academic enrichment designed to produce engineering leaders with both strong technical grounding and the integrity to serve as industry and civic models.

It represents a significant infusion of resources into a college already known for academic rigor and real-world research. The newly named Miguel A. Loya College of Engineering is home to more than 5,000 students and nearly 300 faculty and staff across seven departments, and has long been recognized for preparing graduates who balance theory with practical, industry-ready skills.

For Loya, this donation comes full circle — both a personal tribute to his family’s commitment to education and a public investment in El Paso’s future. UTEP serves one of the most binational communities in the United States, where access to opportunity can transform entire families.

His gift ensures that students from communities like his own, no matter their means, can pursue world-class engineering education without financial constraint.

Over the years, Loya has remained a prominent supporter and advocate for UTEP, receiving the College of Engineering’s Gold Nugget Award in 2004 and the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2010, the university’s highest alumni honor. Yet this gift redefines his legacy, blending philanthropy with purpose at a scale that makes a lasting institutional impact.

With it, the Miguel A. Loya College of Engineering enters a new era — one built on the principle that the brightest young minds of West Texas can stand on a global stage, not despite their roots, but because of them.

Loya’s journey began in the same classrooms his gift now empowers.

His name, etched into the college walls, symbolizes the enduring cycle of opportunity that defines the American university ideal — where education, gratitude, and ambition converge to shape generations of progress.