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DALLAS (Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ) – Alumni, parents and friends of Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ from the Denver area were acknowledged Oct. 9, 2014, at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for their generous combined commitments of more than $7.6 million toward the University’s Second Century Campaign.

Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ President R. Gerald Turner, Vice President for Development and External Affairs Brad Cheves and members of the Campaign Steering Committee for Denver hosted members of the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ community living in the Denver area – home to more than 1,500 alumni and more than 80 current Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ undergraduate students. The Denver celebration underscored the impact that Second Century Campaign donors in the region are having on Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ students, faculty and the campus.

Denver Campaign Co-Chairs Liz Martin Armstrong, who serves as chair of the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences executive board, and Bill Armstrong, who is a member of the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Board of Trustees, are 1982 Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ graduates with degrees in geology. Two of their three children also graduated from Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ.

The Armstrongs have committed more than $6 million to their alma mater during the campaign in support of residential campus housing, athletics, student scholarships, faculty, Dallas campus lighting enhancements and student housing at Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ-In-Taos, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ’s 300-acre campus in northern New Mexico. Armstrong Commons, one of Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ’s new student housing facilities on the main campus in Dallas, is named in recognition of a 2011 gift from the Armstrongs.

“Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ and Denver have a special connection,” said Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ President R. Gerald Turner. “The Armstrongs and the hundreds of other Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ supporters from the city and region stand as testimony to this connection and to the passion of our alumni, parents and friends in Colorado.”

Nine Denver-area donors have made commitments of $50,000 or more. Seventeen percent of Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ undergraduate alumni living in the Denver area made a gift to the University during the last fiscal year – an important measurement for national university rankings.  In all, more than 750 Denver-area donors have made more than 2,500 gifts to Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ during the fundraising campaign, which began in 2006.

Thirty-three Denver-area contributors have been recognized as President’s Associates donors for giving $1,000 or more in a fiscal year, and 158 donors are members of Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ’s Hilltop Society, acknowledging those who have consecutive years of giving to Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ.

“Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ has a special place in our hearts,” said Bill Armstrong. “Liz and I met at Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ. We have siblings and children who have attended Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ. We continue to benefit from not only the academic experience, but also from the strong network of friends and business connections we maintain today.”

The Denver-area gifts count toward the $1 billion goal of Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Unbridled: The Second Century Campaign.  To date the campaign has raised more than $902 million in gifts and pledges to support student quality, faculty and academic excellence and the campus experience.  The campaign coincides with Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ’s celebration of the 100th anniversary of the University’s founding in 1911 and its opening in 1915.

Scenes from the Denver Celebration

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Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools.