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Today we honor Dr. Teresa Lozano Long, a Texan educator, and philanthropist. Teresa grew up on a dairy farm in Premont, TX. She graduated from high school as Valedictorian at just 16 years old and is the first Mexican American woman to hold a bachelor’s, master’s, and a doctorate in kinesiology. 

Lozano Long was renowned for her and her husband’s generosity. They began their philanthropy work in 2000 with their financial support of UT Health San Antonio so that the programs could better train physicians to serve South Texas. They continued to serve students through extensive donations for scholarships. She has received many high honors from her alma mater, UT Austin, such as its College of Liberal Arts Pro Bene Meritis Award, the UT School of Law’s Thurgood Marshall Legal Society for Commitment to Diversity Award, the recipient of the Texas Medal of Arts Award and an inductee into the Women’s Hall of Fame. She was honored by the Bullock State History Museum with its “Women Shaping Texas in the 20th Century” award and was the recipient of the inaugural Madeleine Rast Award from the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Teresa also became the namesake for UT’s Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS) after her and her husband’s generous endowment of $10 million for the institute. 

The reason for Lozano Long’s dedication to expanding and funding all these programs?  “Joe and I never had children, so we decided that if we could make enough money, we would help as many children as we could.”

Teresa passed away recently in the spring of 2021 at the age of 92, but she is remembered very fondly by her family and the UT Austin community.

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