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DONOR IMPACT REPORT A year of students transformed by your generosity — and the record programs, landmark gifts, and named spaces that made it possible.
UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
2025-26 BY THE NUMBERS
$4.9M TOTAL RAISED THIS YEAR
A M ES S AG E O F G R AT I T U D E
A YEAR OF RECORDS. AND ROOTS. Dear Friends and Supporters, This year, the UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business achieved something rare: a moment when ambition and generosity arrived at exactly the same time. Record enrollment in our community programs. Landmark gifts to our most urgent priorities. Spaces named to honor families whose belief in this school spans generations. Every door opened carried your name — even when your name is not on the wall. None of it happened by accident. Every record broken this year was underwritten by your commitment. The pages that follow are the story of what your generosity made possible. I hope you see yourselves in every student, every program and every space we dedicate together. With deep gratitude, Ian O. Williamson, PhD Dean, UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
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$41M TOTAL SCHOOL ENDOWMENT
150 FUTURE LEADERS INITIATIVE STUDENTS · RECORD COHORT
$2.5M+ DELOITTE FOUNDATION · SINCE INCEPTION
$245K DEAN’S LEADERSHIP CIRCLE GRANTS · 5-YEAR TOTAL
UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
M E R AG E FE L LOWS PR O G R A M · C L A S S O F 2 0 2 5
A LEGACY SET. EVERY YEAR. Each year, a select group of students from across the MBA, MFin, MIE, MiM, and MSBA programs are named Merage Fellows, matched with senior practitioners who invest their time, expertise, and professional networks in the generation that follows. These are mentorships built on the belief that the most important things a leader learns cannot be found in a case study.
The Merage Fellows program is made possible by donors who believe that mentorship is itself a form of philanthropy — an investment in people that compounds across careers.
2025 CLASS ROSTER EMBA
Timothy Barounis · Jason Caster · Cindy Del Toro · Magdalena Dyjak · Amanda Wirtz
FLEX MBA
Odilcia Balondola
FTMBA
Ching Yan (Casey) Chong · Naveen Joy
MFIN
Gabriel Villamariona
MIE
Jake Monarch
MIM
David Koenigsberg
MSBA
Joshua Corey Schuld
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UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
G I F T S T H AT M A K E E V E RY T H I N G E L S E P O S S I B L E
THE FOUNDATION BENEATH EVERY RECORD. Every milestone in this report reflects a community of donors who believe in the Merage School and invest in its continued momentum. Each year, donors contribute through appeals, center partnerships, program support, leadership engagement, and other forms of giving—directing their generosity toward the people, programs, and priorities that matter most to them. For many, that commitment grows over time: a scholarship fund supported year after year, a center they have helped advance, a community program that reflects their values, or the school’s most pressing priorities at a pivotal moment. Together, these gifts provide a consistent source of strength while giving the Merage School the flexibility to respond to new needs and pursue emerging opportunities. This ongoing support enables the school to act with ambition and agility. It can launch a promising pilot, advance new research, support a student facing an unexpected challenge, accelerate an initiative, or invest in an opportunity at exactly the right moment. In this way, annual and sustained giving works alongside transformational philanthropy — each playing an essential role in moving the School forward. This community includes Dean’s Leadership Circle members — Merage alumni engaged with the school’s goals — and Dean’s Advisory Board members, whose guidance shapes future plans. It also includes every donor who invests in the Merage School, whether new or returning, helping strengthen what the school achieves today and can become tomorrow.
“Every great program at this school started with an idea worth pursuing. Year after year, our donors give us the resources to turn those ideas into action.” IAN O. WILLIAMSON · DEAN
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WHAT THIS COMMUNITY MAKES POSSIBLE Student Emergency Access Immediate support when a student faces an unexpected financial crisis Curriculum Innovation New courses, tools, and teaching approaches before they have a permanent budget line Pilot Programs & New Initiatives The investment that lets us try something bold before we know if it will become permanent Community Program Expansion Growing FLI, LIFEvest, and other access programs to serve more students each year Research Seed Grants Early funding for faculty and doctoral work before external grants arrive
ONE EXAMPLE: DEAN’S LEADERSHIP CIRCLE GRANT INITIATIVE
$245K
52
5-YEAR GRANTS TOTAL
PROJECTS FUNDED
100% donor funded · $40K awarded this year for 8 initiatives · All funds go to students and programs within the same academic year it is given.
UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
S PEC I A LT Y M A S T E R ’S FE L LOWS H I P
STELLA AND JOHN FOUNDATION. The Stella and John Foundation Endowed Fellowship permanently expands access to the Merage School’s nationally ranked specialized master’s programs, ensuring that exceptional students can pursue graduate business education based on talent and potential, not financial circumstance.
Stella Zhang and John Shen Foundation Commitment Endowed Fellowship · Generates distributions in perpetuity
For many promising candidates, the decision to pursue an advanced degree is shaped as much by cost as by aspiration. This fellowship removes that barrier, allowing students to focus fully on their education, professional development, and career preparation. More importantly, this gift is designed to endure. As an endowed fund, it will generate support in perpetuity, creating opportunities for students not only today, but for decades to come. The lasting impact will be measured not only in fellowships awarded, but in the thousands of lives touched through the careers, innovations, and communities shaped by those who receive this support.
A LU M N I PH I L A N T H R O PY · KO N N EC T H R
JAMIE VIRAMONTES, MBA ’17. Jamie Viramontes has spent his career proving a simple but powerful idea: people strategy is business strategy. After earning his MBA from the Merage School in 2017, he founded Konnect HR with the conviction that an organization’s success is shaped by its ability to identify, develop, and empower talent. As Vice Chair of the Dean’s Leadership Circle, Jamie saw an opportunity to bring that same philosophy back to the school that helped shape his own professional journey. He recognized that students needed more than academic preparation alone. They needed a place to define who they are as professionals, articulate their value, and navigate the increasingly complex transition from classroom to career. The Konnect Talent Design Studio was born from that vision. The Studio gives future business leaders access to the tools, coaching, and resources needed to build meaningful careers with purpose and confidence. For Jamie, this investment is more than a gift. It is the continuation of a career dedicated to helping people discover their potential and achieve it. 5
UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
I N T H E I R OW N WO R D S
THE STORIES BEHIND THE NUMBERS.
Aylin Mendoza Herrera ’26 · BA · Greg and Cindy Lai Undergraduate Award “When I received my UC Irvine acceptance letter, I cried with joy. Since then, I have worked as an Academic Coach through GEAR UP Compton, mentoring students who remind me of myself. The support I have received at UC Irvine has strengthened my commitment to creating those same opportunities for others.”
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Bridgette Retamoza ’28 · Flex MBA · Alan and Debra Kaye International Success Scholarship “Both of my parents were immigrants, and Spanish was my first language growing up. My mother never had the opportunity to attend school and later taught herself how to read and write as an adult. Watching her determination taught me that education is not something to take for granted.”
Aiden Streeter ’26 · MPAc · Stephen and Ellen Milner / Baker Tilly Scholarship “The additional $5,000 closed the affordability gap, helping me manage living costs in Southern California and ultimately enabling me to enroll. I was raised by a single mother. Education has always been my path to create opportunities for my family and to give back.”
Simon (Seongbin) Yoon ’26 · PhD · Ian O. Williamson, PhD and Brandi M. Williamson PhD Scholarship “I came to the Merage School from South Korea, drawn specifically by the opportunity to work with Professor Ming D. Leung, whose expertise in labor markets is matched by his genuine encouragement of students who want to explore less-charted research territory. I am thrilled to share that I will be joining WU Vienna as an Assistant Professor upon completing my degree — a milestone that once felt distant but is now a reality.”
UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
W H E R E B U S I N ES S B EG I N S
CHANGING WHAT STUDENTS BELIEVE IS POSSIBLE.
FUTURE LEADERS INITIATIVE · 2025
PACIFIC LIFE LIFEVEST · 15TH YEAR
FLI prepares high-achieving high school and community college students for careers at the intersection of business, technology, and innovation through hands-on programming, direction from industry leaders, and site visits to corporate partners like PIMCO, NVIDIA, Kia, and Samsung.
Housed within the Todd and Lisa Halbrook Center for Investment and Wealth Management, Pacific Life LIFEvest is a week-long financial literacy program for 8th and 9th graders who will be first in their families to attend college. Students leave with a personal financial plan, a professional network, and the conviction that college is not just possible but expected.
150
275%
80%
+39%
STUDENTS · 2025
4-YEAR GROWTH
ALUMNI ATTENDED COLLEGE
ABOVE NATIONAL AVERAGE
100%
3.94
1500+
25+
PLAN TO APPLY TO COLLEGE
AVERAGE GPA
STUDENTS AND FAMILIES
NONPROFIT PARTNERS
“Before FLI, I had interests but no clear direction. The program showed me pathways I had not considered before. I now feel much more confident about my future.”
“You’ve inspired me to keep striving for my dreams and being myself. Without your help, I would have struggled with networking, finding connections, and learning about financial life.”
FLI PARTICIPANT, CLASS OF 2025
JOSEPH B. · 2024 LIFEVEST PARTICIPANT
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UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
T H R E E N A M ES . O N E S C H O O L . O N E S TO RY.
THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT DEFINE A MERAGE EDUCATION. This year, three first-floor spaces received names that reflect something fundamental about the Merage experience: the relationships formed here often become as transformative as the education itself. Though their journeys to Merage began for different reasons, Joanna Ho, Eric Li, and Jason Kan are connected by a common story, one rooted in mentorship, friendship, and a lasting commitment to the community that shaped their lives.
JOANNA L. Y. HO EXECUTIVE COMMONS
ERIC YUAN-TSUNG LI CLASSROOM
JASON C. T. KAN FOYER
For generations of students, Professor Joanna Ho was more than a faculty member. She was a mentor, advocate, and trusted guide whose warmth and commitment made every student feel seen, valued, and capable of more than they imagined. The Joanna L. Y. Ho Executive Commons carries her spirit forward.
Eric and Jason arrived at the Merage School as students and left as lifelong friends. Their names occupy adjoining spaces, not by accident, but by design. A classroom and a foyer side by side: the architecture of a friendship made permanent.
Students will pass through these spaces every day, perhaps unaware of the friendship that inspired them. That, in many ways, is the essence of their gift: a lasting reflection of how shared experiences create enduring bonds, and how those bonds inspire a commitment to future generations.
ANDREW POLICANO UNDERGRADUATE SUCCESS COMMONS Dean Andrew Policano served the Merage School with a vision for expansion—including the creation of our now #27 nationally ranked undergraduate program. In 2025, colleagues, faculty, alumni, and friends came together to establish the Andrew J. Policano Undergraduate Excellence Endowment and name the 2nd floor commons to honor his service to the undergraduate community.
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“In many ways, this space tells two stories: one of leadership, and one of gratitude. A vision for student success, and a community willing to invest in its future.”
UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
L EG ACY & PL A N N E D G I V I N G
A GIFT BEYOND A LIFETIME. Every gift sustains this school. This year’s records are proof. Some donors choose to extend that commitment beyond their own lifetime, ensuring that what their generosity builds today keeps building for generations they will never meet. For some, that decision is made at a reunion. For others, it comes while watching a student cross the commencement stage, mentoring a young graduate, or reflecting on the opportunities that began here. However the moment arrives, it is marked by a simple realization: the doors that were opened for them should remain open for others. The individuals recognized here chose to transform gratitude into permanence. Their gifts are structured to provide support year after year, creating a lasting source of opportunity that strengthens the Merage School long into the future.
“These donors are not simply investing in what we are today. They are shaping what we will become, building the school long before we know what’s next. That kind of faith in an institution is a profound act, and one we never take for granted.” IAN O. WILLIAMSON · DEAN
If you are considering a legacy gift We would be honored to talk with you about what matters to you and how a gift might carry that forward. merage.uci.edu/give advancement@merage.uci.edu
Legacy donors take the long view to its furthest horizon, understanding that the true measure of philanthropy is not what it accomplishes in a single year, but what it makes possible over decades. 9
UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
FOUNDING & PLANNED GIFTS A founding gift provides early philanthropic support to help establish a new program or fund, while a planned gift is arranged as part of a donor’s financial or estate plans to provide support in the future. Paul and Elisabeth Merage — Founding naming gift · The gift that made the school what it is today.
Todd and Lisa Halbrook — Halbrook Endowment Fund
Pamina Barkow — Entrepreneurship Initiative Fellowship Endowment
John and Cynthia McKenna — McKenna Family New · 2025 Endowment
Dawn E. Beattie — Dawn E. Beattie Endowed Award Fund
Kristen Monson and Brad Horner — MSB Highest Priorities Support
Keith and Michelle Boothroyd — LEADership Student Award Endowment
James P. Rankin — Rankin Family Scholarship Fund
John and Ruth Ann Evans — Ruth Ann and John New · 2026 Evans Family Endowed Fund in Business
LD Reyer — Reyer Family Endowed Scholarship Kathy and Larry Wilk — Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support
ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP & FELLOWSHIP FUNDS An endowed scholarship fund is a permanent fund that is invested to provide ongoing financial support for students through scholarships and fellowships awarded each year. Accenture Foundation — Accenture Foundation Management Minor Award
Greg and Cindy Lai — Greg & Cindy Lai Endowed Undergraduate Student Award
Melissa and Harry Beck — Harry and Melissa Beck FEMBA Endowment
Tim and Margaret Leyden — Leyden Family Endowed Scholarship
Wayne and Michelle Bian —Wenqiang & Michelle Bian Sustainability Award Endowment
Stephen and Ellen Milner — Stephen & Ellen Milner/ Baker Tilly Scholarship
Keith and Michelle Boothroyd — LEADership Student Award Endowment
Kristen S. Monson — Spangenberg Scholars for Global Leadership Endowed Fund
Dr. Tonya Williams Bradford and Dr. Kevin Bradford — Bradford Fellows Fund
Gerardo Okhuysen and Christopher Pounds — Gerardo Okhuysen and Christopher Pounds Endowed Fund
Alethea Caldwell — Alethea Caldwell Munsinger Endowed Fund
Gerardo Okhuysen and Christopher Pounds — Jone Pearce Endowed Fund
Josh Childress — Childress Scholarship Endowment
LD Reyer — Merage School Student Support Endowment
Todd and Lisa Halbrook —Todd & Lisa Halbrook Endowed Scholarship Aaron Hill — Halford Family & Bixby Land Company Student Award Joanna Ho and Jeffrey Chiou — Joanna Ho Endowed Fund Alan and Debra Kaye — Alan and Debra Kaye International Success Endowed Fund Martin M. and Esther H. Kennedy Trust — Kennedy Fellow Endowment
John Shen & Stella Zhang — Stella & John Foundation Endowed Fellowship for Specialty Masters New · 2025 Various Donors — Stephen Barkow Fellowship Endowment Various Donors — Peter H. Stevens Jr. Memorial Student Prize Ian O. Williamson, PhD and Brandi M. Williamson, PhD — Ian and Brandi Williamson, PhD Scholarship Endowment Yum! Brands — Taco Bell Fellowship
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UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
ENDOWED PROGRAM, CHAIR & CENTER FUNDS Endowed program, chair and center funds are permanent funds invested to provide ongoing support for academic programs, distinguished faculty positions and specialized centers focused on research, education and industry engagement. Mary Gilly and John Graham — Gilly Family Endowed Chair in Marketing
Various Donors — Center for Real Estate Student Investment Endowment
Todd and Lisa Halbrook — Todd and Lisa Halbrook Center for Investment & Wealth Management
Yum! Brands — Taco Bell Chair in Information Technology Management
Various Donors — Andrew J. Policano Undergraduate Excellence Endowment
FO U N D I N G PA R T N E R S H I P
PRIVATE BUSINESS INITIATIVE. BUILDING A HOME FOR PRIVATE BUSINESS. Privately held companies are vital to Southern California, yet their leaders face distinct challenges: growth, governance, succession, capital, workforce, technology and what comes next. With the founding support of American Lending Center and Sunstone, the Merage School created the Private Business Initiative, connecting these companies with faculty expertise, student talent and industry relationships through consulting and capstone projects, advisory support, research and leadership development. This year, their investment established an enduring platform built around four integrated components — each designed to create real value for private businesses while deepening the Merage School’s connection to the private capital ecosystem. Learn more: merage.uci.edu/PBI
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ANCHOR EVENT Thought leadership & community entry point
CAPSTONE Students solving real business problems
CLINIC Advisory services & ongoing support
RESEARCH Faculty insights funded by dedicated grants
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O FFI C E O F A DVA N C E M E N T 4293 Pereira Drive, SB1 Suite 5600 Irvine, CA 92697-3125 merage.uci.edu/give