January 29, 2010

Contact:   Stacey Schmeidel 704-894-2798

Davidson, NC--Carlos Alvarez, president and CEO of The Gambrinus Company, and his wife, Malu Alvarez, have announced a $10-million gift to Davidson College. The gift was made public by Davidson President Tom Ross at a meeting of the college's Board of Trustees this afternoon.

Carlos Alvarez, president and CEO of The Gambrinus Company

The entire amount of the gift, the fourth largest in Davidson's history, will be used to establish the Alvarez Scholars Program, which will provide financial support for international students at Davidson.

Carlos and Malu Alvarez, who were born in Mexico and moved to San Antonio, Texas in the mid-1980s, have been loyal supporters of Davidson, where Carlos Alvarez has been a member of Davidson's Board of Trustees since 2003. One of their daughters, Malu, graduated from Davidson in 2002. A niece, Matty Villareal-Alvarez, is currently an international student at the college; another niece, Daniela Villareal-Alvarez, came to Davidson as an international student and graduated from the college in 2007.

In announcing the gift, Davidson President Tom Ross said, "Carlos Alvarez is an extraordinarily thoughtful trustee of Davidson College. This gift is further evidence of his and Malu's love for the college, and of their belief in and hopes for Davidson's future. I am particularly delighted that Carlos and Malu have chosen to establish the Alvarez Scholars Program with this gift. Davidson has long emphasized global education--through the courses we teach, the students we enroll, and the educational and service opportunities that we provide. Through the extraordinary generosity of Carlos and Malu, the Alvarez Scholars Program will open Davidson's doors more widely to the most talented students from all over the world."

After the gift was announced Carlos Alvarez said, "I am very impressed with the strategic plan's commitment to Davidson's international program. I feel that our scholarship initiative will help the college attract outstanding students from all over the world. I admire Davidson's focus on educating students for leadership and service, and I hope that the Alvarez Scholars Program helps demonstrate the college's commitment to creating a global community at Davidson."

Christopher Gruber, Davidson's vice president and dean of admission and financial aid, noted that the Alvarez' gift would significantly increase the amount of money available for scholarships for international students at Davidson. Gruber, who has worked closely with Alvarez on the Admission and Financial Aid Committee of the Board of Trustees, noted that "As a trustee and as a parent, Carlos has always supported the college and acknowledged Davidson's success, while at the same time encouraging us to 'think big,' and to not become complacent. This remarkable gift to establish the Alvarez Scholars Program will help us tremendously with our recruitment of international students," Gruber noted. "It will help students around the world become more aware of Davidson and the strong liberal arts education we provide. In the same way that The Davidson Trust helped demonstrate our commitment to access for low- and middle-income students, the Alvarez Scholars Program will demonstrate our commitment to access for international students."

Carlos Alvarez is the founder and president of The Gambrinus Company, a craft brewing and sales and marketing organization in San Antonio. Gambrinus owns and operates the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas; BridgePort Brewing Company in Portland, Ore.; and the Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley, Calif. Gambrinus markets and distributes beers throughout the U.S., Australia and Italy.

Carlos and Malu Alvarez are dedicated supporters of higher education, and have given generously of their time and talent to various schools and universities. At Davidson, Carlos is serving his second term as an at-large trustee, where he serves on the Admission and Financial Aid Committee. As such, he was a leader in the establishment of The Davidson Trust, which made Davidson the first liberal arts college in the nation to eliminate loans from financial aid packages. In 2008, Carlos Alvarez was invited to deliver the prestigious Chidsey Leadership Lecture at Davidson.

Carlos and Malu were members of Davidson's Parents Council from 1998 to 2002. In 2000, they made a gift to name the Alvarez College Union at Davidson College. Over the past several years, they have also supported scholarships, the renovation of the college's Cunningham Theatre Center and the Annual Fund.

Beyond Davidson, Carlos Alvarez is a trustee and former chairman of the World Affairs Council of San Antonio, a trustee of the World Affairs Council of America in Washington, D.C.; a trustee of Saint Mary's Hall in San Antonio, Tex.; a trustee of School Year Abroad in Lawrence, Mass.; and a member of the board of directors of Frost Bank, based in San Antonio.

Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,800 students located 20 minutes north of Charlotte in Davidson, N.C. Since its establishment in 1837 by Presbyterians, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country. Through The Davidson Trust, the college became the first liberal arts institution in the nation to replace loans with grants in all financial aid packages, giving all students the opportunity to graduate debt-free. Davidson competes in NCAA athletics at the Division I level, and a longstanding Honor Code is central to student life at the college.

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About International Students at Davidson
Current total enrolled: 62 (3.6% of total enrollment)
Number of countries represented: 31
Most-represented countries: Germany, People's Republic of China, Ghana, Burma, Canada, Ecuador, Japan, South Korea and Zimbabwe

About International Studies at Davidson
Davidson has longstanding commitment to educating students about the the world at large and preparing students for the challenges of national and international leadership.

• In 1985, Davidson established the Dean Rusk International Studies Program to provide a cornerstone for international offerings on campus and to "give each student, first, an informed awareness of our whole planet, and second, direct knowledge of at least one foreign area."
• The Dean Rusk International Studies Program is named for Dean Rusk, who graduated from Davidson in 1931 and who served as Secretary of State during the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations.
• Davidson students study abroad at a higher rate than many of the college's peers. Sixty-four percent of the class of 2009 studied abroad for credit.
• The Dean Rusk International Studies Program at Davidson College has a generous grant program that supports students and faculty members conducting research, study, service, internships, and experiential learning abroad. In 2007-08, 120 students received grants totaling nearly $165,000.