The Byers Family Foundation gave a $500,000 gift to The University of Texas (UT) at Tyler School of Medicine. The gift will be used to name a professorship in family medicine, which will significantly aid in the recruitment of nationally recognized faculty.
“I am grateful to the Byers Family Foundation for helping us continue to grow the School of
Medicine so we can better address the health care needs of East Texas,” said UT Tyler President Kirk
Calhoun, MD, FACP.
This gift was given in honor of Lewie and Elaine Byers. Lewie served as the executive vice president
for both Austin Bank and Texas National Bank in Rusk. He founded New Birmingham Resources, a
producer of iron ore, iron ore aggregate and frac sand. His wife, Elaine, worked for the Texas
Department of Human Services as services to the aging and disabled program manager.
“We are excited to offer our support to the UT Tyler School of Medicine,” said Brent M Byers,
president of the Byers Family Foundation. “We feel attracting dynamic professors to our region,
especially in family medicine, is a priority. This school is a game-changer for health care and the
economy of East Texas and we are pleased to join with others who have helped to make this a
reality.”
The Byers Family Foundation was established in February 2023. The mission of the foundation is to
support and promote philanthropic endeavors which provide community access to educational
opportunities and health care and benefit human services, art, and culture in the East Texas region.
“This gift allows us to find and retain faculty who provide the highest quality of education to our
medical students who can then go out and serve the community,” said Dr. Brigham Willis, founding
dean of the School of Medicine.
With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT
Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to 10,000 students. Through its
alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these
entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research, and excellent patient care.
Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a
national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine, and Houston
