UA News

Sarah Smallhouse, along with Joseph and Marie Roll and Craig and Connie Weatherup, were honored during the most recent Arizona Board of Regents meeting.

Sarah Brown Smallhouse, president of the Thomas R. Brown Foundations, has been honored by the Arizona Board of Regents for her dedication to advancing education in Arizona.

Smallhouse – along with Joseph and Marie Roll and Craig and Connie Weatherup – was honored with the Regents Award for Outstanding Service to Higher Education during the June 2009 Arizona Board of Regents meeting.
 
The award was established in 1996 to provide special recognition for Arizona citizens and/or organizations that provide exceptional service to higher education in Arizona. Current and former regents contribute to a fund to cover the cost of designing, sculpting and casting an art piece to present to the recipients.

Smallhouse, a University of Arizona alumna who is significantly active in the Tucson community on many levels, has dedicated the foundations that are in her late father's name toward educational pursuits in Tucson and strongly supports the UA.

"My father's success in business prospered because of the close relationship he developed with the UA. The UA gave Burr Brown its competitive edge to rise to global excellence," Smallhouse said.

Her passion for education stems from a belief that "through education, everything else good comes about."

An economist by background, Smallhouse has served the Tucson community through a variety of economic and educational endeavors.

She is co-chair of Solutions through Higher Education; member of the board for the UA Foundation; member of the Eller College Economics Advisory Board; chairwoman of the Global Advantage Executive Committee and the Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities Logistics Council; member of the CANAMEX Commission, the STEM Education Advisory Council and the Southern Arizona Leadership Council; chairwoman of the Southern Arizona Buffelgrass Coordination Center; and member of the Critical Path Institute Advisory Board, the Arizona Town Hall Board and the Tucson Regional Town Hall Advisory Board.

In 2006, through the Thomas R. Brown Family Foundations, she generously established two $1 million endowed scholarship funds in the UA College of Engineering and the Eller College of Management.

The Thomas R. Brown Family Foundations added another $1 million to the engineering fund in 2007. Last year, the Thomas R. Brown Family Foundations endowed three faculty chairs totaling $6.5 million.

"Sarah is relentless in her desire to make a difference in everything she does. Beyond that, she wants people to understand how they can make a difference," said Jim Moore, president and CEO of the UA Foundation.

"When Sarah and the Thomas R. Brown Foundations choose to make a gift, they invest in people, programs and projects they believe will advance society, the economy and our communities. The UA is truly grateful to the Brown family and the Thomas R. Brown Foundations for their very generous support."