$4.8 Million Grant from The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation Expands Support for Veterans and Students at UBalt.
Award from celebrated alum renews support for The Bob Parsons Veterans Center and Veterans Advocacy Clinic with funding for new programs and dedicated staff plus providing general support for UBalt students
University of Baltimore alumnus Bob Parsons, B.S. ’75, D.H.L. ’08, founder of GoDaddy and PXG, and his wife, Renee, recently increased their support for his alma mater with a $4.8 million multiyear grant from The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation. The award provides $3.8 million in funding for The Bob Parsons Veterans Center (BPVC) and The Bob Parsons Veterans Advocacy Clinic (BPVAC) over five years. It also includes $1 million in general support for UBalt’s Fund for Excellence, giving the University flexibility to meet the most immediate needs at a time when traditional student funding remains uncertain.
Parsons, a Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran, founded The Bob Parsons Institute at UBalt, comprised of the Veterans Center and Veterans Advocacy Clinic, in 2013. For a decade, they have been the pillars of the University’s commitment to providing members of the military with a transformative education, as well as transitional support for veterans in both the student body and in the community. Recently, these programs played a pivotal role in securing UBalt recognition as one of the Top Ten Small Public Institutions for Veterans in the nation for the 2026-27 Military Friendly School rankings.
“I know what it’s like to return home from war and have to figure out your next step,” said Bob Parsons, Co-Founder of The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation. “The University of Baltimore gave me that step. Renee and I want to make sure every veteran that walks through those doors gets the same shot, and the support to see it through.”
The Bob Parsons Veterans Center connects military-affiliated students—including veterans, active duty, reservists and National Guard members—with academic and support resources in a military-friendly atmosphere. The Center has experienced year-over-year growth since its inception. In the most recent academic year, the student population they served increased by 10 percent from the previous year, while the number of graduates went up by 25 percent.
Josiah Guthland, director of the BPVC, appreciates The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation’s commitment to responsive support, as the need for services and service providers continues to grow at The University of Baltimore. (The Foundation previously increased funding for the BPVC and BPVAC when it renewed its support in 2021 with a four-year grant for $2.4 million awarded the following year.)
“This new commitment from The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation will significantly expand our capacity to serve a growing population of veteran and military-affiliated students in the coming years,” said Guthland. “An investment of this size will directly support the addition of a new staff position dedicated to strengthening individualized support, streamlining access to resources and enhancing student engagement at the Center. In turn, this will allow us to ensure continuity of service in vital areas like recruitment and certification for VA education benefits for our veteran student population as it grows.”
The Bob Parsons Veterans Advocacy Clinic provides law students at the University with the opportunity to engage with veterans and to learn about the legal difficulties they often encounter after leaving the military and it too has been flourishing.
Last year, the kind of work being done in the BPVAC helped to propel the University of Baltimore’s Clinical Law Program to the #4 spot on U.S. News & World Report’s national ranking and secure the Maryland State Bar Association’s Brigadier Philip Sherman Award for Outstanding Service to Veterans for the director of the Clinic, Professor Hugh McClean.
While the size of the Veteran’s Clinic’s constituency has grown significantly in recent years, the number of School of Law students enrolled in the BPVAC has remained consistent. So, like the Veterans Center, the Clinic plans to put some of their funding toward hiring a new staff member to support their growing needs, freeing up student attorneys for more client-centric work, including trial advocacy, participation in mock hearings and moots, and increasing the number of pro bono hours they spend with their clients.
“Since 2014, 177 student attorneys have been sworn in under Maryland Rule 19-220 to champion the rights of veteran clients in the courtroom,” said Clinic director Hugh McClean. “In addition to that, we have educated upwards of 2000 attorneys and legal professionals on the importance of providing pro-bono legal services to the veteran community through our advocacy work at numerous conferences and other meetings of legal professionals. The generosity of the Parsons Foundation is profound, it’s real, and it’s lasting. It changes lives on campus and in the community every day.”
University president, Kurt L. Schmoke praised Parsons’ forward-thinking generosity, acknowledging: “We are incredibly grateful that The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation shares in our view that meeting the financial needs of our students is a top priority for the University. Having that connection—between the student who is on the verge of finishing their degree but for a few bills, and an alumnus who has seen the world from that point of view—is deeply meaningful to us. What a great partner we have in Mr. Parsons. He simply cares about this community.”
That is reflected in the $1 million award made by the Parsons Foundation to the University’s Fund for Excellence, which provides special funding to support the expansion of existing academic programs or the creation of new and innovative academic programs and initiatives or special one-time projects. When opportunities arise, the Fund for Excellence allows the University to meet the moment by focusing on how to get an initiative off the ground rather than worrying about where the money will come from to pay for it.
Parsons and his wife Renee are two of the most steadfast supporters of the University of Baltimore—and its students—having contributed more than $14.6 million since 2013. Their most recent gift is the second largest in the University’s history, following right behind $5 million given in 2020 to establish an endowment for The Bob Parsons Scholarship Fund.
That scholarship helps close the gap between federal aid and tuition costs for transferring Maryland community-college graduates and military-affiliated students looking to complete their undergraduate degrees at UBalt. At the close of the 2024-25 academic year, over 400 Parsons Scholars have been awarded more than $2.8 million in scholarship dollars since the fall of 2020.
About The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation
The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation offers support to nonprofit organizations successfully working to empower, educate, nurture and nourish people during what is often the darkest time of their lives. Founded in 2012 by philanthropists and business leaders Bob and Renee Parsons to provide hope and life-changing assistance to the country’s most vulnerable populations, The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation offers critical funding at critical times to those in need. The Foundation’s giving is driven by the core belief that all people – regardless of race, religion, roots, economic status, sexual orientation or gender identity – deserve access to quality healthcare, education and a safe place to call home. Follow @WeDealInHope on social media or visit TBRPF.org, to learn more about partner organizations and the important work being done in the community.
About UBalt
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the College of Public Affairs, the Merrick School of Business, The University of Baltimore School of Law and the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences.