Linda Dipert and Mike Farhat
1895 Society Membership Surges to All-Time High
Summer 2011 · Comment ·
Membership in the 1895 Society is on pace to reach 450 this year—a jump of more than 84 percent in five years. The unprecedented growth is due, in part, to the work of Linda Dipert and Mike Farhat, above, and other members of the 1895 Society Committee. In September 2009 the UT Arlington Development Board created the committee and charged it with increasing the number of leadership donors. Under the direction of Farhat ’72, members have communicated to alumni and community leaders the importance of UT Arlington’s mission and encouraged them to invest in the University through 1895 Society membership. “UT Arlington contributed greatly to my success in business,” says Farhat, who chairs the committee. “I want others to recognize that UT Arlington impacted them and to pay it forward by joining the 1895 Society.” Named for the year UT Arlington was founded, the society recognizes donors who make an annual contribution of $1,000 or more to any University program during the fiscal year (Sept. 1-Aug. 31). Gifts support cutting-edge research, outstanding teaching, state-of-the-art facilities, and student scholarships, and propel UT Arlington toward its goal of being a major national research university. “As the largest contributor to economic development in our community, UT Arlington improves the quality of our lives,” Dipert ’01 says. “It gives me great satisfaction to be a part of the UT Arlington mission of giving back to the community.” Composed of UT Arlington Development Board members, the 1895 Society Committee hosts several events each year. For information about joining the 1895 Society, contact Meg Weber, director of University Development, at 817–272-0850 or weber@uta.edu.
