James Brendan Foley, D.V.M., and his wife, Dorothy, were generous friends to The University of Tulsa. James was born in 1920 to parents Bartholomew Joseph Foley and Genevieve L. Foley in West Englewood, New Jersey. He graduated from St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey, before serving in the US Navy as a pilot during World War II. Dr. Foley was stationed aboard the USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor.

After the war, James attended TU for two years, beginning in 1948, pursuing a pre-med program, before transferring to Oklahoma A&M School of Veterinary Medicine to complete his degree. Upon his graduation in 1954, Dr. Foley worked as a veterinarian for many years in Dallas, Texas, enjoying a successful practice. James and Dorothy had one son, James Chenery Foley, born in 1947.

Dorothy was born in Toronto, Canada, to parents Peter James Chenery and Jessie Riddell Chenery. James and Dorothy and their son spent many enjoyable summers with their extended family in Canada as James Jr. was growing up. After James Sr. retired, he and Dorothy spent half of their time in Canada and half in Sanford, Florida.

Dorothy passed away in 2000, and James Sr. passed away in 2002. James Jr., also a veterinarian, died in 2020. The Foleys never forgot their time in Oklahoma, and in 1984, they generously established an estate gift, the James B. and Dorothy Foley Endowment Fund, to benefit both The University of Tulsa and Oklahoma State University. Their thoughtful gift continues to fund a variety of programs at TU.