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Eric Spaulding of Â鶹ÊÓƵ was selected to receive the Texas Business Hall of Fame Ben J. Rogers scholarship, an exclusive award granted to a small group from among applicants statewide. Spaulding and other winners will be recognized formally at the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation’s 35TH annual induction dinner November 1 in Dallas.

“I feel incredibly honored to be chosen as the Ben J. Rogers scholarship recipient,” said Spaulding.

“Just knowing that the board members from the Texas Business Hall of Fame believed in me enough to select me has motivated me to show them that they made the right choice,” he said.

Spaulding, a Flower Mound native, graduated from Â鶹ÊÓƵ with a bachelor’s degree in marketing in May 2017. He continues his studies at Â鶹ÊÓƵ toward a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in leadership. After graduating in spring 2018 with his M.B.A., Spaulding plans to attend law school and then work as a Major League Baseball agent at his own sports agency.

Spaulding first heard about the Ben J. Rogers scholarship when his professor told him that his 3.97 GPA made him eligible to apply.

“I didn’t think I would be selected as a finalist because I knew we had a lot of qualified students who applied,” said Spaulding.

“Then, Dean Venta informed me that I was a finalist and that I would have the opportunity to interview with a couple of the board members from the Hall of Fame. Honestly, it was an honor to just be nominated along with the other students from Lamar,” he said.

Also nominated from Lamar were Amina Gibic and Brandon Stacey.

The $15,000 scholarship will cover Spaulding’s tuition for the remainder of his M.B.A., and any remaining funds will go towards his tuition for law school. Spaulding says the scholarship is a tremendous help towards his goal of finishing his studies debt-free.

The Rogers family is well know for its many contributions to Southeast Texas and Regina Rogers is a tremendous supporter of education and Â鶹ÊÓƵ in particular, said Henry Venta, dean of the College of Business. In addition to the scholarship at the Texas Business Hall of Fame, Rogers also endowed the Ben J. Rogers Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies at the university, held by career businessman, scientist and entrepreneur Brandon Price, and supports Â鶹ÊÓƵ through the Julie and Ben Rogers Community Service Award as well as the Ben J. Rogers Outstanding Business Student Award, presented annually at the college’s honors convocation.

This year, the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation will award 35 $15,000 scholarships from 19 named scholarships in the foundation to deserving students working toward degrees at colleges and universities across Texas.

The Foundation honors members of the state’s business community whose visions and careers have helped to place Texas at the forefront of the 21st century economy. It seeks out and recognizes the future entrepreneurs and leaders who will allow Texas to maintain this presence in the future.

Founded in 1982 by a small group of Texas business men and women, the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation aims to recognize the achievements of distinguished business legends and to honor their contributions to their state and community.

Ben J. Rogers was a Beaumont business leader and philanthropist. He was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 1991 in recognition of his many generous contributions to the business community and the state.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ's M.B.A. is fully accredited by the International Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The Â鶹ÊÓƵ College of Business has been ranked by the Princeton Review as one of the top 294 business schools in the nation.

Students with undergraduate business degrees can earn their M.B.A. in only 14-18 months with an accelerated 8-week course structure. Students have the option to attend courses online or on campus and can choose from many concentration options, including enterprise resource planning, healthcare administration, criminal justice management, organizational management, service management and marketing, leadership, finance or experiential business and entrepreneurship.

For more information on the Texas Business Hall of Fame visit . To learn more about Â鶹ÊÓƵ, visit lamar.edu, or the College of Business at business.lamar.edu.