Shown with an oversized check for the one million dollars are, from left, Ruth Piña and Sylvia Rodriguez from Valero. Photo provided

SAN ANTONIO • The Valero Energy Foundation — the charitable arm of Valero Energy Corporation — pledged $1 million to Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) on May 22. The donation is the largest gift received by OLLU since a May 6 fire devastated the university’s Main Building.

“Valero’s $1 million leadership pledge comes at a defining moment. It inspires our creativity to strategically advance as a private Catholic university with a long history of quality and service to students from all backgrounds,” said Tessa Martinez Pollack, Ph.D., president of OLLU. “I feel confident that others will follow Valero’s lead.”

The fire in the Main Building affected more than 68,000 square feet of classrooms, labs and offices, the cafeteria and kitchen and a residence hall wing that housed 35 women students. In addition, the basement of the adjacent Moye Hall sustained water damage. All in all, more than 100 staff and faculty were displaced. Rebuilding efforts for the Main Building are expected to last at least two years. Valero’s pledge of support will be used toward funding that restoration process.

“We are proud to be able to support Our Lady of the Lake University at this time,” said Bill Klesse, chairman and CEO of Valero Energy. “For more than 100 years, this university has given students a solid foundation and a path to career success. Many of our employees are graduates, and we’re pleased to be able to help restore this fine building.”

Participants in the press conference held outside of Providence Hall, which is located two buildings to the right of the university’s Main Building, were Pollack; Debbie Hevner, vice president of Human Resources Administration, Payroll and Benefts; and Mike Edelmann, chair of the OLLU Board of Trustees. Also representing Valero was Ruth Piña, director of Staffing and Employee Services. Valero Energy Corporation, a Fortune 500 company based in San Antonio, is the largest refiner in North America. Since its founding in 1980, Valero has been committed to making a difference in all of the communities where its employees live and work. Valero and its 22,000 employees annually support children’s charities.