Donors are vital to the Moore School’s continued success and excellence. Donors are
recognized for their investment in a number of ways, including giving societies and
appreciation from those who directly benefit from donor generosity.
Donor Highlights from 2023-24
Jay Burks, ’91 MBA, and Valarie Burks
Retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general
Retired health care executive
Current owner and principal officer of James J. Burks Consulting LLC
Created the Jack and Ann Burks Endowed Scholarship
Jay Burks with his parents Jack and Ann Burks
After Jay Burks’ father passed away in 2017 and his mother in 2021, he wanted to memorialize
his parents through an undergraduate scholarship. His father, Jack Burks, ’65 marketing,
and his mother, Ann Burks, were lifelong Gamecocks.
Since Jack attended Columbia High School, Ann attended Dreher High School and Jay
went to Irmo High School, Burks asked for the scholarship to give preference to those
three Columbia-area high school seniors enrolling in the Moore School.
While Jack’s marketing degree led to a successful sales career with more than 20 years
at Procter & Gamble, Burks’ MBA provided him functional knowledge — finance, marketing,
human resources, general management and organizational governance. He said the main
skills the Moore School taught him were leadership, teamwork and communications.
“As my career progressed in military and civilian organizations, I continuously relied
on what I learned as a graduate student at the Moore School,” Burks said.
Alex Chastain, ’95 finance
Chief planning officer at Abacus Planning Group
Partner/shareholder at Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards
Alex Chastain
To celebrate Alex Chastain’s 25 years with the company, Abacus Planning Group donated
$25K in her honor.
“I was humbled and honored that Abacus recognized my years of service by making a
contribution to the Moore School,” she said. “Unlike a ‘material’ gift like a watch,
a donation like this has the potential to have meaningful impact for the school and
the students.”
Chastain said the Moore School provided her a solid foundation with a quality education,
exposure to the business skills she needed and a career-lasting network of colleagues
and friends.
Using Abacus’ donated funds, Chastain is working with the Moore School’s finance department
to develop a one-credit course around financial literacy that will be open for all
USC students.
“Financial Literacy is something we assume students have learned along the way,” she
said. “However, the reality is that most students have not had any formal exposure
to the skills necessary to make informed and effective financial decisions. The goal
of this course is to expose students to information and resources that will provide
them with the confidence to take the necessary steps for financial well-being.”
John Harloe, Dean Rohit Verma and the 2023 recipients of the S. Travis Pritchett Investments
Scholarship
John Harloe, ’74 history and business minor, ’75 MBA
Retired from Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss
Created the S. Travis Pritchett Investments Scholarship
John Harloe jokingly says he would be sweeping streets if it hadn’t been for former
Moore School professor Travis Pritchett, who wrote a letter of recommendation for
Harloe to enroll in the MBA program.
“I didn’t know what the MBA program was in 1974, but (Pritchett) told me I was intelligent
enough to get an MBA.”
Harloe then began working in life insurance after completing his MBA and was later
asked to work for American National Insurance.
“When I could afford to make a gift, I knew I wanted to make it for former professor
Travis Pritchett, who encouraged me to do the MBA program that took my whole career
off in all kinds of directions. I also wanted to help make the Moore School a destination
for Wall Street to come here and recruit students.”
“Those students with the hedge fund are what I envisioned when I started the S. Travis
Pritchett Investments Scholarship. I can’t tell you how much joy it gives me.”
Mike McCabe in his football days
Mike McCabe, ’76 marketing and ’80 MBA
Retired from Merrill Lynch
Created the J. Michael (’76, ’80 MBA) and Stephanie McCabe Endowed Scholarship
Inducted in 2005 to the USC Athletics Hall of Fame for his ’71-’75 football career,
Mike McCabe said his time in the Moore School as a marketing student and later an
MBA student was just as important as the accomplishments he made on the football field.
McCabe, one of 10 children whose father died when he was 16, said attending USC on
an athletic scholarship was a major opportunity for him. His employer, Bank of America,
also paid for 80 percent of his MBA.
“I was fortunate to have those opportunities, and as time goes on, you feel like you
need to give something back. I always tried to maintain balance between my support
for athletics and academics in the Moore School. Athletics will get your foot in the
door, but what you learn on the academic side helps you follow through and do what
you need to be successful.”
McCabe’s scholarship will be awarded to undergraduate business students.
Carlos Mickan
Carlos Mickan, ’85 MIBS
Retired from Pan-American Life Insurance Group as CFO and vice chairman of the board
Currently an audit committee chair for Pan-American
Created the Jan E. (’84) and Carlos F. (’85) Endowed Fellowship
Carlos Mickan credits the Moore School for preparing him for a successful 40-year
finance career with multinational companies. He decided to begin the Jan E. (’84)
and Carlos F. (’85) Fellowship fund to not only give back to the Moore School but
to also contribute to building a highly skilled workforce.
“Education is one of the key pillars in our society, particularly in the way we face
global challenges. For me, understanding the Moore School’s mission allowed me to
access key resources to help my business goals.”
Mickan also hired a number of interns and Moore School graduates for positions within
his companies and said he relied on the Executive Education programs to train his
management teams.
“Alumni participation is an important component to strengthen the bond among the many
school stakeholders and clearly benefit the students, faculty, alumni, global/local
businesses and our community at large.”
Bruce (’80 accounting) and Lynn (’80 management science) Felt
“We wanted this current generation of students, no matter their background, to have
the same opportunities we did after graduation without the burden of overwhelming
debt,” Bruce said. “We also very much support the school's objective to build an even
more diverse student experience and hope that our support will contribute to this
objective.”
Bichel initially created the scholarship in her name for a Moore School student who
had been in the foster care system. Having participated in a mentoring program for
foster children, she knew the struggles these children face in affording a college
education.
A resident of Greenville, South Carolina, Bichel agreed the scholarship could also
be awarded to a student with financial need.
To enhance the Moore School’s access, opportunity and community engagement efforts
within the two-year full-time International MBA program, Pozen agreed in 2022 to sponsor
two full-tuition fellowships for students who are from underrepresented backgrounds.
The Dean’s Circle Society recognizes individuals who annually (July 1 – June 30) invest
$2,500 or more to support the strategic initiatives of the Moore School. Young alumni and faculty
and staff may contribute $1,500 or more to qualify for the Dean’s Circle Society.
All members of the Dean’s Circle Society receive the following recognition:
Your name will appear in the annual Dean’s Circle Society list of donors.
You will be invited to special events allowing you to network with Moore School leadership
and other donors.
You will be recognized as a Dean’s Circle Society member at Moore School events.
Dean’s Circle Society members are recognized at the following distinguished levels
for their investment in the Moore School:
Partners – Gifts of $10,000 and above
Executives – Gifts of $7,500 to $9,999
Investors – Gifts of $5,000 to $7,499
Associates – Gifts of $2,500 to $4,999
Young alumni Dean’s Circle (10 years from graduation year) – Gifts of $1,500 and above
Faculty, staff and retirees Dean’s Circle (university-wide) – Gifts of $1,500 and above
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