University Breaks Fundraising Record
Winter 2012 · Comment ·
Fueled by donations to boost innovation and technology in the College of Science, philanthropic support for UT Arlington reached a record $18.9 million in gifts and commitments for 2011-12. The total represents a 26 percent increase over the previous year.
The University also benefited from philanthropists who established endowments to support faculty and research in the College of Engineering and School of Architecture and who established endowments for student scholarships.
The total value of new gifts and pledges has nearly tripled over the past five years. The 2011-12 record also includes 55 new endowments, up from 41 the previous year. Membership in UT Arlington’s 1895 Society, which recognizes donors who give $1,000 or more annually, increased more than 10 percent.
“It’s clear that philanthropic support for The University of Texas at Arlington is on a steep trajectory,” Vice President for Development Jim Lewis says. “We are very grateful to our donors and friends and look forward to ensuring that their gifts help shape the University for generations to come.”
Many donors saw the impact of their gifts doubled through the Maverick Match program, which uses natural gas royalties to leverage new commitments toward the University’s endowment. The program, which matches gifts of $25,000 or more, has distributed nearly $9 million since it began in 2009.
Among the notable gifts last fiscal year was a three-year software license worth an estimated $4.4 million from global information and analytics provider IHS to the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. A $3 million equipment donation from Shimadzu Scientific Instruments established the Shimadzu Center for Advanced Analytical Chemistry in the College of Science.
