Donors Contribute Over $650,000 for UTD Causes on North Texas Giving Day

The University of Texas at Dallas received more than $650,000 on North Texas Giving Day in support of efforts that benefit students, enrich academic initiatives and bolster programs at the Center for BrainHealth (CBH) and the Callier Center for Communication Disorders.

NTX Giving Day, held on Sept. 19 this year, is the largest communitywide giving event in the nation. In total, this year's event, sponsored by Communities Foundation of Texas, raised over $68 million for more than 3,000 local nonprofit organizations.

More than 110 donations to CBH will support the Optimal BrainHealth for Warfighters program, which provides active-duty military members, veterans and their families access to brain health tools, such as the BrainHealth Index and Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Tactics Training.

Contributions to CBH were matched with a gift from Linda and Joel Robuck, which brought CBH's total donations to $567,435 and put the center in eighth place for large organization contributions across North Texas.

"It is a tremendous day to celebrate our community's unparalleled generosity to improve lives," said Sandra Bond Chapman PhD'86, CBH chief director and the Dee Wyly Distinguished University Chair for BrainHealth in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. "We are endlessly grateful to our magnanimous supporters for making this a record-breaking year for the Center for BrainHealth. The Optimal BrainHealth for Warfighters program propels our efforts to significantly scale up delivery of our brain health breakthroughs to benefit our service members, their families and veterans."

William H. McRaven, a retired U.S. Navy four-star admiral, ninth commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command and former UT System chancellor, works closely with CBH. Apart from NTX Giving Day, he has made a $2 million challenge match for funds raised for the Warfighters program through July 31, 2025.

"I used to tell people that just because you go off to war, doesn't mean that everybody comes back broken," McRaven said in a video. "But it does mean that everybody comes back changed. But we really didn't understand that change. Over time, as we began to monitor the alarming rise in military suicides, we learned that the underlying issues were not just psychological; a lot of them were physiological. The brain chemistry had changed. … I've come to realize that how we deal with our brains may be the single most important thing we do … for the next generation."

More than $75,000 was raised for the Callier Center for Communication Disorders. Funds will go toward hearing aids, cochlear implant programming sessions and group speech therapy for patients, as well as for puzzles, books and disposable earphones used in hearing tests.

"North Texas Giving Day is about creating a community of generosity that empowers families and changes lives," said Brad Wylie, a Callier Center supporter. "By continuing the ideas of the day beyond Sept. 19, each of us can harness the power of collective giving and create a lasting impact that reaches far beyond our individual contributions. By supporting the Callier Center, we are helping to ensure that patients receive the highest quality care and have access to the resources they need to thrive."

Booths set up by the UT Dallas Alumni team on Chess Plaza and signs placed around campus encouraged student participation and helped to double this year's goal of 100 student participants.

"It takes an entire community to support the incredible things happening all across the UT Dallas campus," said Kyle Edgington PhD'13, vice president for development and alumni relations. "We're thankful for every contribution made by our students, faculty, staff and North Texas neighbors this year."

Other donations made during NTX Giving Day benefited research labs, student organizations and programs across campus.