As UNLV’s first graduate and now a successful businessman, Jon Cobain – ‘64 Business Administration – has pledged up to $2.3 million in matching funds to support scholarships for first-generation business students and bolster student research and professional development within the school. A first-generation scholar himself, Cobain will match dollar-for-dollar all gifts made by Nov. 30, 2022.
The Jon Cobain Lee Business School Matching Gift was created to support high-achieving first-generation college students at LEE by helping them graduate on time and preparing them to professionally and personally make a positive impact in the business world and in their communities.
“I have experienced firsthand the opportunities pursuing a degree brings with it. My intent is to motivate new donors to match every dollar of my gift to Lee Business School,” said Cobain. “Together we can elevate and recognize the rising stars at UNLV who are the first in their families to attend college.”
Donations to the matching gift will support three initiatives:
Cobain First Generation Business Scholar Endowment Fund
Scholarships will be awarded to high-achieving, first-generation Lee Business School students. To qualify, students must have a high school GPA of 3.75 or higher and maintain a 3.5 or higher GPA while at UNLV.
Cobain Fund for Career and Professional Services
This fund will help the Lee Business School Office of Career and Professional Development expand the reach of its programming that helps students refine their professional polish, engage with employers, and secure rewarding positions upon graduation.
Center for Business and Economic Research Cobain Fund
Funds will increase the number of students involved in applied business and economic research. The Center for Business and Economic Research and LEE faculty will hire more students for applied research projects and help them refine skills that will jumpstart their careers after graduation.
“More than half of all Lee Business School undergraduates are first-generation college students,” said Gerry Sanders, the school’s dean. “Jon’s gift, together with the matching funds, will have a total impact of $4.6 million and reward our best students and motivate even more to choose UNLV.”
Cobain, a first-generation scholar himself and president of his senior class, was the first of 29 students to accept their degrees in the spring of 1964 at the university’s inaugural on-campus commencement (previous classes had to travel to Reno to participate in commencement). After working in marketing and product development for Fortune 500 companies, he went on to build a successful career as the head of his own mergers and acquisitions firm.
To donate to the Jon Cobain Lee Business School Matching Gift visit the UNLV website or contact Andrew Gaines at andrew.gaines@unlv.edu or 702-895-3138.
