Welcome to Get to Know..., where we feature UT System Administration staff as they offer insights into their lives in and out of the office. Each new edition will be published here.
Jose Perez
Senior Development Specialist
Office of External Relations, Communications and Advancement Services
What are your primary job responsibilities?
My primary responsibility is overseeing and managing over 18,000 endowment, estate, and trust account record keeping for all University of Texas institutions. Annually, I'm required to review all inactive records in accordance with the UT System retention schedule. Endowments live on forever and some of them even date back to the early 1900s! Every day, I process gifts for the Chancellor's Council Executive Committee, Excellence Endowments and gifts made out to the other UT institutions.
What do you most enjoy about your job?
I'm humbled by the generosity of our donors when I see the many endowments created to perpetually support the institutions.
What is a fact about you that may surprise your colleagues?
I'm a watch collecting enthusiast. I'm fascinated by horology and the many intriguing complications of the movement behind the watch dial. Since as a child I was always interested in watches — it all started with my Nintendo Gameboy watch. My favorite watch in my collection is the Grand Seiko SBGA413 Shunbun Spring dial that I got as a gift for completing graduate school.
What do you do to disconnect or de-stress?
Taking my dog Harrison, a mixed Lhasa Apso, for walks, enjoying relaxing music and enjoying the scenery of nature. During the weekends, I’ve taken him to several breweries around the Austin area to relax, see some music shows and enjoy the great food there; most notably, Cork & Barrel and Vista Brewery.
What was your first car?
My first car was a 2002 silver Mitsubishi Lancer. The best memory was packing that car with friends while we were at lunch during my high school senior year!
Who is currently playing on your Spotify playlist?
Shallow Water by Wild Nothing. I’ve been a fan of the band for close to 10 years, starting with their earlier albums. I’ve actually had the pleasure of seeing Wild Nothing perform live at Mohawk and already have bought two of their albums: Nocturne and Vermillion. What drew me in is their mixture of soothing, melancholic rock with hints of 80s inspired synthesizers. Little trivia for the song Shallow Water, the lead singer wrote that song for his wife.
