UNT System Center achieves $2.6 million goal

The University of North Texas System Center at Dallas has achieved one more milestone toward becoming a full university. Texas Sen. Royce West, UNT System Chancellor Alfred F. Hurley, other UNT officials and area business and civic leaders met their goal to raise $2.6 million in private contributions to supplement the $4.2 million the Texas Legislature appropriated for the project for 2000-01.

"The community has demonstrated a strong commitment to higher education through its support of the UNT System Center at Dallas," says Dallas business leader and UNT System Regent Roy Gene Evans, chair of the executive committee charged with raising funds for the system center. "Meeting our first funding goal is a positive step toward establishing a permanent university."

Many prominent leaders in the community have served on the executive fund-raising committee including Tom Dunning, Jerry Farrington, Rep. Helen Giddings, Nancy Halbreich, Hurley, Joe Kirven, Richard Knight Jr., Tom Lazo Sr., Connie Mitchell, Phil Ritter, West, Virginia Wheeless and Don Williams.

Through their efforts, more than 30 corporations, foundations and private individuals stepped forward to fund programs, scholarships and state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities. Major contributors to the system center include:

• ($500,000 and up) City of Dallas
• ($300,000 and up) Southwestern Bell Foundation and Texas Instruments Foundation
• ($200,000 and up) Bank of America, Best Southwest Partnership (sponsor of gala attended by 800 people, which raised more than $250,000), GTE Foundation, The Meadows Foundation and TXU
• ($100,000 and up) American Airlines, AT&T Foundation, Bank One, A. H. Belo Corporation Foundation, Chase Bank - Dallas, Hillcrest Foundation, Hoblitzelle Foundation, State Farm Foundation, and Roy and Christine Sturgis Charitable and Educational Trust
• ($50,000 and up) The Dallas Foundation, LBI Electro Optics Corp., Methodist Hospitals of Dallas, Moody Foundation, Nationwide Insurance & Investments, Washington Mutual Foundation and Wells Fargo
• ($20,000 and up) Coca-Cola Bottling Company of North Texas, D. W. Distribution Inc., Dallas Southwest Osteopathic Physicians Inc., Progressive Insurance, Oak Farms Dairy and Trammell Crow Co.
• ($10,000 and up) 3M, Austin Industries, Deloitte & Touche and Lancaster Economic Development Corp.
• ($2,500 and up) Hutchins Economic Development Corp and Texas Optometric Association
• (Individual donors) Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk and Jerry and Judy Pinkerton

An additional $1.2 million has been raised toward a $10 million goal to fund the center's operations for a period of 6 years beginning in the 2001-02 academic year. These gifts will continue to help the System Center serve as a catalyst for educational renewal in southern Dallas and northern Ellis counties, according to UNT System officials. And, as the center grows and shows increased demand, UNT System officials will seek support for facilities and academic programs for a full university — the University of North Texas at Dallas — planned for 2007.

Already, the city of Dallas, in June 2000, approved a resolution directing the city manager to secure $3 million in public or private financing for 200 acres or infrastructure that will eventually be the permanent site for the full university. And, on February 7, 2001, West and Rep. Jesse Jones filed Senate and House bills that would statutorily establish UNT at Dallas. Until a permanent campus is built, the System Center will continue to operate in its current location at 8915 S. Hampton Road, three blocks south of I-20 in Dallas.

"Educational opportunity in underrepresented areas is critical to improving the quality of life and the future economic impact in the communities where we live and work," says West. "Moving the System Center toward full university status is a necessary measure to meet the growing needs of the Metroplex."

BY LAURA SHORT lshort@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

• Pohl makes commitment to healing
• Proposed legislation seeks to create UNT-Dallas
• TAMS student a finalist in science talent search
• Spring 2001enrollment up almost 2.7 percent
• Program designed to help reduce parent stress
• Several UNT departments settling into new homes
• UNT Psychology Clinic to offer counseling on overcoming negative feelings
• Novelist, essayist to speak at UNT March 1

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