HumCap Invests in First-Generation STEM Students

As the child of an immigrant, HumCap President and CEO Tad McIntosh knows firsthand how valuable opportunities are for first-generation college students. So when it came time to decide how the Dallas-based recruiting company was going to make an impact, HumCap set its sights on supporting first-generation STEM students at UT Dallas with a $50,000 endowment.

“We’re hoping this gift will be the first of many gifts,” McIntosh said. “We want to make a big, focused, partnered impact.”

Since HumCap is a high-tech HR consulting and recruiting firm, their focus on STEM education was a natural decision.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing a growing deficit in STEM graduates in the Metroplex, so we think efforts to increase STEM talent in the area are critical to keep Dallas a hightech hub,” McIntosh said.

Instead of being forced to work long hours to pay for college and the costs that come with it, McIntosh hopes the gift’s recipients will be able to focus more on their goals for the future.

“We want to help those students get an education, then go out and do something good,” McIntosh said. “It will change generations.”

McIntosh has remained invested in the success of UT Dallas and its students by serving on the Dean’s Executive Council for the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science. Charlie Quinn MBA’08, vice president of recruiting solutions for HumCap, is also an active member of the Military and Veteran Center’s Advisory Board and the Naveen Jindal School of Management’s Dean’s Advisory Council. The company’s vested interest in higher education is evident in the talent it helps produce, according to Courtney Brecheen, senior associate dean of undergraduate education at UT Dallas.

“HumCap’s endowment is an investment in first-generation student success that our students will return with vigor, because it reinforces their value within our community,” Brecheen said. “The scholarship will reward a hard-working scholar and provide valuable financial support.”

Generating new resources and avenues of support for first-generation students is a core University objective. In 2019, UT Dallas was named a First Forward institution by the NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and The Suder Foundation. This designation recognized UT Dallas for prioritizing engagement and improved experiences for first-generation students.

“This award serves as a public illustration of our mutual commitment to social mobility and the cultivation of human capital assets from within our first-generation student population,” Brecheen said.