Accounting’s New Name

A landmark naming gift is empowering one of the nation’s premier accounting programs to chart bold new directions for the profession. This February, The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business received a foundational gift from accounting alumnus Jon Shulkin, BBA ’97, that will name the Jonathan K. Shulkin Department of Accounting.

Shulkin serves as co-president and a partner of Valor Equity Partners, an operational growth equity investment firm serving exceptional founders, entrepreneurs and companies that are making the world a better place. Shulkin said he hopes the gift will expand career opportunities for the nation’s brightest accounting students.

“An accounting degree from McCombs gives students the tools to add significant value in environments where purpose and innovation matter,” Shulkin said. “I hope McCombs accounting graduates expand their conception of career opportunities, enabling them to have a great life and give back to UT.”

McCombs Accounting Department Chair Steven Kachelmeier said Shulkin’s professional journey illustrates the promise of this transformative gift. “Mr. Shulkin’s evolution from his UT Austin accounting roots to co-president of a top operational growth investment firm reinforces the sense that accounting can open new and exciting doors to success,” Kachelmeier said. “This gift enables us to embrace the challenges posed by new technologies, new regulations and new career paths.”

Whether Jon is investing in emerging technology companies backed by Starbucks and Nestlé, providing hands-on operational support to investments in SpaceX and xAI, or fondly remembering his Forty Acres undergraduate roots (“I would return to Chicago for the holidays wearing my cowboy boots and saying ‘y’all’!”), one building block remains central: “The education I received from the best accounting school in the U.S. proved foundational to what I do today.”