UT Dallas endowment passes $1 billion for the first time as donors give $83.6 million in a year

The University of Texas at Dallas endowment has topped $1 billion for the first time, the university said in an announcement published Wednesday.

The figure was shared at the school's annual Celebration of Support for donors on Oct. 21, held at the Trammell and Margaret Crow Museum of Asian Art, part of the Edith and Peter O'Donnell Jr. Athenaeum on the Richardson campus.

"One billion dollars is an extraordinary milestone for a university as young as ours," President Prabhas V. Moghe said, according to the university's account. "It is also a powerful vote of confidence in our mission, our momentum and our future."

The year in giving

UT Dallas said 9,300 individual donors made close to 18,300 gifts over the past year, totaling $83.6 million. Its fundraising drive, New Dimensions: The Campaign for UT Dallas, has raised over $622 million of its $750 million target, with money directed to student recruitment, research and the arts.

Two gifts announced at the event had been made public earlier: a $10 million commitment from the Harry W. Bass Jr. Foundation for the second phase of the Athenaeum, whose centerpiece concert hall is set to open in spring 2027, and collector Barry L. MacLean's gift of 4,000 works of Asian art plus $10 million for their care.

Michael Reza, the vice president for advancement, told donors the Athenaeum itself showed what philanthropy could build, and said the campaign's reach extends to scholarships and mentoring. A recent graduate who now studies marketing at the Naveen Jindal School of Management told the crowd that scholarships and campus work let her finish her bachelor's degree without student debt.

What the release does not say

The announcement did not give an exact total or a breakdown of what the endowment supports.

UT Dallas is based at 800 W. Campbell Road in Richardson.

Sources

news.utdallas.edu