Trailblazing McDonald's Entrepreneur Roland Parrish Donates $50,000 for New Endowed Scholarship

Roland Glynn Parrish surprised the audience at UNT Dallas Spring Commencement on May 12, 2026, when he announced a $50,000 gift to establish an endowed scholarship.

Through the Parrish Charitable Foundation (PCF), the family philanthropy founded by the entrepreneur and longtime education advocate, the funds will be used to launch the scholarship in the name of PCF and the UNT Dallas Class of 2026. “If I can help young people live the American dream, and it gives them a boost to stay in school and earn a degree, that’s what this is about,” Parrish said. "I live by Luke 12:48, ‘From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded.'"

Parrish is Chief Executive Officer of Parrish Restaurants, Ltd. Parrish, operating one of the largest McDonald’s franchise organizations in the U.S. He unveiled the contribution 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 and Class of 2026 Endowed Scholarship will provide support 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 revealed a 5,000 contribution to the University. 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.

“Education has been the single greatest accelerator in my life, and I believe deeply in opening that same door for the next generation of students,” said Parrish. “UNT Dallas is doing transformative work in our community, preparing students who will lead, build businesses, and lift up their families and neighborhoods. I am proud to invest in that mission.”

Parrish Restaurants, Ltd. 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. “To the Class of 2026, you’re legendary,” said Parrish. “A Trailblazer clears a path so others can come behind them. You are now upwardly mobile. You have set a foundation for economic prosperity.”

Parrish touched on AI and compared it to the way McDonald’s advertising has evolved as technology and media consumption has changed. “My commercials went from 60 seconds to 30 seconds to 15 seconds and now seven seconds,” he explained. “The world keeps changing. Don’t pause. Keep reading. Seek certificates. Continue your education,” he urged. “People ask me, ‘What makes Roland successful?’ Three things: focus, discipline, humility.”

Closing his remarks with words from a poem, Parrish left graduates with a final charge: “Life is yours. Live it. Love it. Take it.”

In conferring the degree, which was planned prior to Parrish's contribution, the University recognized his 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 acknowledged Dr. Roland Glynn Parrish as a Trailblazer.

President von Eschenbach hailed the gift as a milestone moment for the institution’s growing scholarship endowment. “Roland Parrish is the embodiment of the American entrepreneurial spirit and a champion for educational access, and we are profoundly grateful for his investment in our students,” said President von Eschenbach. “This endowed scholarship will change lives at UNT Dallas for generations to come. Roland’s example reminds our graduates that success is measured not only by what you achieve, but by how you reach back to lift others.”

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.

About Roland G. Parrish

 Roland G. Parrish opened his first McDonald’s restaurant in Dallas’s Pleasant Grove neighborhood on Juneteenth in 1989 after persistently pursuing a franchise opportunity following an initial rejection. Today, Parrish Restaurants Ltd operates 27 McDonald’s locations across the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, employing over 1,400 team members. Parrish is widely recognized as one of the nation’s most successful McDonald’s franchisees and as the second-largest African American McDonald’s franchisee in the United States.

A graduate of Purdue University and an accomplished collegiate track and field athlete, Parrish has paired business success with sustained philanthropy through the Parrish Charitable Foundation. Parrish has made giving back a defining commitment of his life and career. The Foundation supports scholarships, youth programs, and community initiatives across North Texas and beyond, including a medical clinic in Fort Portal, Uganda. In 2024, Parrish received the 95th Linz Award — one of the highest civic honors bestowed in Dallas — for his decades of community impact. The City of Dallas has also dedicated a public park in his honor in East Oak Cliff.