The University of North Texas at Dallas (UNT Dallas) today announced the establishment of a new $50,000 endowed scholarship, made possible through a generous gift from the Parrish Charitable Foundation, the family philanthropy founded by celebrated entrepreneur and longtime education advocate Roland G. Parrish, Chief Executive Officer of Parrish Restaurants, Ltd. Parrish, who operates one of the largest McDonald’s franchise organizations in the U.S., unveiled the gift during UNT Dallas’s 2026 Commencement ceremonies at the Texas Trust CU Theater in Grand Prairie, where the University also conferred upon him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
The Parrish Charitable Foundation Endowed Scholarship will provide need- and merit-based support to UNT Dallas students in perpetuity, with a focus on first-generation college students and students from historically underserved communities across North Texas. As an endowed gift, the principal will be invested and managed by the University, with annual earnings used to fund scholarships every year, creating a lasting source of opportunity for generations of UNT Dallas Trailblazers.
The announcement marks a tenfold increase over Parrish’s previous gift to UNT Dallas. When he addressed graduates as the commencement speaker in 2017, he surprised the University with a $5,000 contribution. Nearly a decade later, his return to the commencement stage brought a $50,000 endowed commitment — a sustained and deepening investment in the success of UNT Dallas students. Parrish further pledged to contribute to the endowment on an annual basis going forward, ensuring the fund continues to grow and serves UNT Dallas students for many years to come.
Parrish Restaurants has been named the #1 Black owned Business in North Texas for six years in a row. Parrish is the second-largest African American McDonald’s franchisee in the nation. Currently, Parrish operates 25 McDonald’s franchise stores; at one time he operated as many as 27.
Addressing the Class of 2026 from the commencement stage, Parrish challenged graduates to keep learning, stay disciplined, and lead with humility — and reminded them that their degrees had positioned them for lifelong economic mobility.
Closing his remarks with words from a poem, Mr. Parrish left graduates with a final charge: “Life is yours. Live it. Love it. Take it.”
In conferring the degree, the University recognized Mr. Parrish’s extraordinary entrepreneurship, unwavering commitment to education and opportunity, and lifetime of service to the people of Dallas and beyond. “We share the same values. Yours are ours, and ours are yours,” said UNT Dallas President Warren von Eschenbach during the conferral. “UNT Dallas exists to open doors of opportunity for students who might not otherwise have them — to serve the communities of southern Dallas and to prepare the next generation of leaders and changemakers. In that mission, we could not ask for a more fitting embodiment than the man standing before us today.” With those words, President von Eschenbach welcomed Dr. Roland Glynn Parrish as a Trailblazer.
President von Eschenbach hailed the gift as a milestone moment for the institution’s growing scholarship endowment.
The scholarship builds upon another recent announcement aimed at supporting future UNT Dallas Trailblazers. On May 1, the University launched the Trailblazer Tuition Trust program offering free tuition and mandatory fees to prospective UNT Dallas students whose family income is less than $100,000 and who meet eligibility requirements. The program is targeted at Texas high school graduates who plan to enroll for their bachelor’s degree in the fall of 2026.
State Senator Royce West, who also addressed graduates, said the new endowed scholarship embodies Parrish’s philosophy of giving back to the community in which he lives and operates his restaurants.
“The generosity Roland Parrish demonstrates with this scholarship is yet another example of his continued commitment to the southern Dallas community,” said Senator West. “He understands UNT Dallas’s mission and that the University stands as a beacon of hope and promise for countless future Trailblazers.”
Parrish addressed graduates at two ceremonies. The 11 a.m. ceremony — at which UNT Dallas conferred the honorary degree — celebrated graduates of the College of Business and Technology and the College of Education and Human Services. The 3 p.m. ceremony honored graduates of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The ceremonies came as UNT Dallas begins its academic transition from four schools — Business, Education, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Behavioral Health and Human Services — to a new three-college structure designed to streamline student pathways and strengthen interdisciplinary programs.
