UT alumnus and philanthropist Joe R. Long, whose contributions expanded educational opportunities and supported the arts across Texas, died Oct. 7 at age 96.
Joe and his late wife, Teresa Lozano Long, donated about $100 million to The University of Texas System, earning them the Santa Rita Award in 2018, a recognition reserved for individuals who have demonstrated deep care and support for the system. Their philanthropy was wide-reaching and supported numerous departments at the University, according to UT News.
Born in San Antonio in 1930, Joe transferred to UT from Tarleton State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in government in 1951. After college, he served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, taught high school and then returned to UT to study law, graduating from the law school in 1958, according to the University of Texas Law School Foundation.
Joe worked for the Texas State Securities Board and later as a Texas assistant attorney general. In 1965, he entered the banking industry and helped establish First State Bank of Austin, where he served as chairman and CEO, according to UT News.
Later, Joe turned to philanthropy. He donated $10 million to UT’s Institute of Latin American Studies in 2000 and renamed it after his wife, the first Hispanic woman to earn a doctorate in health and physical education at UT, as a gift to her, according to the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies.
Long Institute director Adela Pineda said the gift was meant to help Mexican American and Latino students learn about their heritage.
“(Joe and Teresa) were interested in UT becoming the prime center of Latin American studies, as Texas is the gateway to Latin America,” Pineda said. “They wanted the institute to have the resources to endure the study of Latin America.”
At UT Law, Joe served as a trustee and financially supported the Long Career Launch Program, established in 2008 to help recent graduates pursue public service legal careers while awaiting bar exam results. His final gift to the law school, made weeks before his death, will support scholarships for students living in a law school residence hall currently under construction, according to Christopher Roberts, executive director of marketing and communications for UT Law.
Roberts said Joe understood the difficulties of pursuing an education without financial resources.
“The most important thing to (Joe and Teresa) was that nobody should be denied the opportunity to get an education because they couldn’t afford it,” Roberts said.
The Longs also supported the arts, helping to build the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Austin and donating artwork to the Blanton Museum of Art. The Longs also created the Long Foundation, a nonprofit organization established to preserve art and eliminate barriers to education.
Mitchell Long, Joe’s nephew and executive director of the Long Foundation, said his uncle and aunt didn’t donate just to be recognized, but because they could and felt obligated to.
“If you knew him, he (came) off as a very gruff and maybe abrupt person, but underneath, he (was) a pretty soft guy and cared greatly for many things, especially for helping young people,” Long said.
