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Black Tie International:
Charn Uswachoke Pledges $22
Million Gift Donation
to the University of North Texas
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Charn Uswachoke |
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UNT alumnus pledges largest gift in university history
Donation is latest in list of multimillion dollar
announcements
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DENTON (UNT) -
The University of North Texas today announced the largest
gift in the history of UNT with a pledge of $22 million from
entrepreneur and alumnus Charn Uswachoke.
The pledged gift focuses on enhancing UNT’s already
outstanding student experience while elevating UNT’s
prominence in music, engineering and business.
“I wanted to
help the next generation have a better education so that we
all can have a better world,” Uswachoke said. “UNT is a
top-quality school and continues to grow and strengthen as
it expands into new areas.”
UNT President
V. Lane Rawlins said Uswachoke's pledge is significant for
its size, breadth and unmitigated support of the
university's quest for excellence in providing a
student-focused, highquality education and growing as a
major public research university.
"Mr. Uswachoke
knows how committed UNT is to becoming one of the best
universities in the nation and to transforming our students
in the process. He experienced that dedication while earning
his MBA here and he's supported our progress through the
years. He also understands that it will take a legion of
supporters for UNT to accomplish our goals, so he is leading
the way," Rawlins said. "His pledge, combined with all of
the other gifts that have come in this year,are propelling
us on a path of excellence.”
Provost Warren
Burggren said Uswachoke's pledge has the one-two punch of
supporting students through scholarships and faculty through
research support and endowed professorships and chairs. Some
of Uswachoke’s pledgedgift dollars are expected to qualify
for matching funds under the state's program to help
emerging research universities,such as UNT,become national
research universities, which would further boost the impact
of
his pledge.
"Mr.
Uswachoke's commitment directly impacts our students and the
quality of their education, which is where we always want to
focus our efforts. Just as importantly, the initiatives he
is supporting will make UNT a far more competitive
institution because they sustain students and faculty who
are at the top of
their game," Burggren said.
Uswachoke's $22
million pledge will be divided among UNT’s world-renowned
College of Music, the College of Engineering
and the College of Business.
·
The
College of Music will receive $10 million:
o
$5
million for endowed professorships and chairs in music
o
$3 million to fund touring and recording opportunities for
students
o
$2
million for highly sought-after, competitive scholarships in
music
·
The
College of Engineering will receive $6.5 million:
o
$5
million to create the Charn Uswachoke Center for Energy
Efficient Materials, a center that will help UNT and its
materials science and engineering department become a leader
in energy-related materials research.
o
$1.5
million to create an endowed professorship in materials
science and engineering to attract a top researcher to head
the center.
·
The College of
Business will receive $5.5 million:
o
$5
million to fund the Charn Uswachoke Scholarships for Study
Abroad for undergraduate and MBA students
o
$500,000
to establish the Charn Uswachoke Graduate Suite in the new
Business Leadership Building
Previously,
Uswachoke donated $1 million in 1995, the largest cash gift
up to that time. He quickly followed with a $1.2 million
gift that same year. The gifts supported music, business and
international endeavors.
Uswachoke’s pledged gift is the latest in a series of
multimillion dollar gifts recently announced by UNT,
beginning with the Ken and Ann Newman $1 million trust
supporting the Emerald Eagle Scholars program last fall. In
the past month commitments and gifts have included:
·
$20 million
sponsorship from Apogee for naming rights of UNT’s
new football
stadium,
scheduled to open Sept. 10.
·
$8
million bequest from UNT benefactor Paul Voertman. The
Ardoin-Voertman Endowment Funds will be divided among the
College of
Music,
the
College of Arts
and Sciences
and the
College of
Visual Arts and Design
at UNT with each getting one-third.
·
Donation
of the nationally significant Joe and Junebug Clark
photography collection. The estimated value is $1.6 million.
UNT will curate, digitize and archive the collection for
educational purposes. The collection contains millions of
items including film, prints and advertisements.
·
Donation
of software valued at $1.22 million from
vrSoftware
Ltd.,
to the
School of
Merchandising and Hospitality Management’s
merchandising degree program.Mockshop,
the company’s three-dimensional program, allows students to
create layouts and plans for store concepts with the same
software used by international retailers.
“These typesof
gifts are so important to a university’s sustained growth,”
said Lisa Baronio, vice president for advancement and
director of development for the UNT Foundation. “They allow
us to build on and maintain our rich history of excellence.”
##
Follow UNT on
Twitter at
http://twitter.com/UNTnews
For more
information on UNT:
www.unt.edu/news
Become a fan of
UNT on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/northtexas
**UNT**
With
more than 36,000 students, UNT
is the nation's 33rd largest university. As the largest,
most comprehensive university in
Dallas-Fort Worth, UNT drives the North Texas region.
UNT offers 97 bachelor's, 88 master's and 40 doctoral
degree programs, many nationally and internationally
recognized.
A student-focused public research university, UNT is the
flagship
of the UNT System.
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