Terri Lacy Baird and James V. Baird of Houston, Texas, decided to become active with the Parents Fund because, says Terri, “We believe a good education is the greatest gift we can give to our children.”

Their Princeton students are Terri’s children, Dylan S. Hogarty ’06, who majored in the Woodrow Wilson School and earned a certificate in finance, and Sarah L. Hogarty ’10, who is majoring in art and archaeology and earning a certificate in American studies. “We were impressed with a university that could offer excellent programs to students following two such different academic paths,” says Terri.

Jim grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and graduated from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, with a BS with special attainments in commerce. He then earned his JD from the Southern Methodist University (SMU) Dedman School of Law in Dallas, Texas. He is a managing director and general counsel at Quantum Energy Partners in Houston, a leading provider of private equity to the global energy industry. He oversees all legal aspects of the company’s activities, with emphasis on transaction structuring, documentation, and due diligence. Jim is an active volunteer for Washington and Lee, which his children Virginia, James, and Hollee Baird also attended; he is a former class agent for his W&L Class of 1975.

Terri, originally from Montana, grew up in Alexandria, Louisiana. She graduated from Southern Methodist University with highest honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa; she went on to earn her JD at SMU law school. She is a partner in the Houston firm of Andrews Kurth LLP, where she is a tax attorney specializing in trusts and estates law.

Says Terri, “We and our children believe, as our daughter Sarah says, that personal success is worth little if it is not achieved in the service of a greater good; Princeton’s emphasis on the importance of community and national service is one of the aspects of the University we most admire.”

Like her husband, she is busy outside the office, in addition to her commitment to Princeton. Terri is a director and the secretary-treasurer of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation, as well as a director and secretary-treasurer of the Barbara Bush Texas Fund for Family Literacy. She has also served on various boards for the Houston-based Memorial Hermann Hospital System for over 25 years.

Both Bairds are strong supporters of The Kinkaid School and Episcopal High School, independent coeducational day schools in Houston which their children attended.

As members of the Parents Fund Steering Committee for the past two years, they encourage other Princeton parents to become involved with parent activities, on and off campus. Jim observes, “The Parents Committee, and the University, have been so welcoming, and we have attended so many events on campus, that we almost feel like Princeton graduates.” Terri adds, “We have seen firsthand the benefits a Princeton education provides our children.” As co-chairs of the Parents Committee, the Bairds offer all Princeton parents “the opportunity to support the people and programs that make these benefits possible.”