Supporting the College


Students

Undergraduate and graduate student support is highly valued by the College of Natural Sciences. Private funding helps the College attract and retain students as well as enhance their educational experience. UT Austin faces many worthy competitors in the bid for the best and brightest students. To compete effectively, first UT must actively promote programs to prospective students and then, must offer attractive scholarships and fellowships. Competitive scholarships and fellowships are essential for successful student recruiting and competitively position UT Austin among peer institutions. Once a student has chosen UT Austin, the College strives to enhance student educational experiences by providing professional development opportunities and challenging research projects. The goal is to provide exceptional and broad educational experiences for our students and prepare them to be future leaders in their professions.See Giving Opportunities.

Faculty

The strength of an academic research institution rests upon the talent of its faculty who are the inspiration of the University. As with students, the College of Natural Sciences must compete with other leading institutions to attract and keep the best faculty. Faculty seek out institutions that are best prepared to help them reach professional goals and where they are most likely to connect with other leading researchers and educators. The College boasts an outstanding faculty, composed of a Nobel laureate, many National Academy members, and numerous members of several other prestigious academic and scientific organizations. You can help ensure that we continue to recruit, retain and honor these extraordinary individuals through an investment in an endowed faculty position. See Endowments.

Programs and Research

The College of Natural Sciences is committed to provide an excellent research-enriched education in science that fosters student success; to discover important new knowledge at the forefront of science through research; and to create an intellectually and scientifically enriched environment that contributes to the economic and technological development of Texas and beyond. Our program and research initiatives include areas such as molecular biology, nanoscience, neuroscience, information security, computational biology and environmental science. A major College focus in recent years has been improving the undergraduate experience and success of our students. One example of this effort is the UTeach program, which prepares math and science teachers for the state of Texas. The College is also committed to offering math and science outreach programs to the community. There are more than 130 outreach programs associated with the College, such as, the Young Scientists Program and Austin Science Fun Day. See Giving Opportunities.

Facilities

Research institutions of the first class, such as UT Austin, require first-rate physical facilities and instrumentation for quality instruction and research investigations. Just as world-class faculty are the lifeblood of an institution, the facilities in which they operate have a profound effect on their ability to achieve excellence in research and teaching. Some of the largest challenges facing the College are providing space for growth, renovating aging facilities, and equipping laboratories with the latest tools. Private gifts can support the acquisition of research instrumentation and equipment, laboratory or classroom renovation, and even new facility construction.

General Excellence Funds

General excellence funds provide tremendous flexibility for top administrators -- deans, department chairs and directors -- as they address ever-changing needs, demands and opportunities. Many times throughout the year these top administrators are faced with timely opportunities that can advance the College, or with challenges that can hinder progress – but due to lack of funding the issues cannot be addressed. College budgets are often stretched tightly and top administrators have very few discretionary dollars, which excellence funds provide.

Excellence funds under the direction of a top administrator, can address for example, unscheduled equipment repairs. If a critical piece of equipment malfunctions such as a freezer, a researcher’s samples can be destroyed if the repair is not made in time or if the equipment is not properly maintained. Another example where excellence funding can help is for faculty development and research support. Attendance for professional conferences is often an unbudgeted expense due to limited dollars. Sometimes a small amount of $1,000 is all that is needed for faculty to pay the registration fee for a research conference.

Every year the College works to recruit and retain world-class faculty and students to enhance research and teaching. Excellence funds can provide coverage of critical expenses such as candidate travel and recruiting receptions. The College can maintain its competitive edge with the assistance of these valuable resources.

To give a gift or set up an Excellence Endowment, call the College of Natural Sciences Development Office, 512-471-3299, or email giving@cns.utexas.edu, or make an Online Gift or Pledge.