President James D. Spaniolo shared his version of “The Night Before Christmas” with a Maverick twist at the Faculty-Staff Holiday Reception.

Thanks to the generosity of our alumni and friends, as well as numerous corporations and foundations, we continue to set records in private support for the University. For the second year in a row, we have generated more than $15 million annually in private gifts and pledges. As a matter of fact, total giving for the past two years exceeds that of the previous five years combined.

That’s a tremendous achievement for a public institution with a relatively young development program. It’s also a trend we’d like to continue.

Our alumni increasingly are becoming more central to our fundraising efforts. Like never before, they are stepping forward and playing a pivotal role in providing the private funds necessary to help fuel UT Arlington’s progress.

I’d like to share two examples of outstanding leadership gifts that alumni made in just the past few months. I think these gifts merit special attention, not just because of the dollar amounts but also because of the motivation and the passion of the individuals who made them.

Alan Petsche ’80 and Bonnie Smith Petsche ’86 recently committed $1 million in support of College Park Center. These dedicated alums credit the University for playing a significant role in enriching their lives and for spearheading the revitalization that’s currently transforming downtown Arlington.

The University will recognize their gift by naming College Park Center’s basketball court Petsche Court in their honor. Alan and Bonnie have always maintained close ties to the University, and Alan currently serves on our Development Board, the advisory group that helps generate and steward leadership gifts to the University.

Mike and Janet Greene have created an endowment in the College of Engineering totaling $1 million. Mike graduated in 1969 with a degree in mechanical engineering and recently retired after 46 years with Energy Future Holdings. The Greenes wanted to give back to the University and, at the same time, have their gift serve as an example for others. They established a $500,000 endowment that is being doubled through the Maverick Match, an innovative program that leverages endowment gifts with royalties from the University’s natural gas resources.

UT Arlington will recognize the Greenes’ gift by naming the Engineering Research Building’s new quadrangle the Janet and Mike Greene Research Quadrangle. Mike currently serves on the executive committee of our Development Board as well as on the College of Engineering Advisory Board.

We are thankful for the confidence that caring, giving people like the Petsches and the Greenes place in our institution. We applaud all of our alumni who are taking a fresh look at their alma mater and finding more and more reasons to be proud—and meaningful ways to express that pride.

It is no secret that UT Arlington has lofty aspirations and an ambitious agenda. We set our sights high and then raise them even higher with each passing day. That’s how good universities become great. That’s how great universities become top-tier institutions of higher learning. The support of our alumni and friends is more important than ever.

With the opening of College Park Center (visit www.utacollegepark.com) in February, we hope to see more of you back on campus—and more often. If you haven’t visited recently, I invite you to return soon and see just how dramatically the University has changed.

And while the changes at UT Arlington have been sweeping, our core values remain the same. Our University’s purpose—simply stated, but profoundly complex—is to continually develop real solutions and prepare real people for extraordinary success in the real world. We need look no further than our alumni—all 145,000 of you—to find tremendous satisfaction in our endeavors. Your success is our success.

“Dr. Bardet brings the College of Engineering and the University national and international recognition,” says Ron Elsenbaumer, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “As a scientist, he has made major advances in the field of earthquake engineering. As an administrator, he is a proven progressive and innovative leader.” Bill Carroll stepped down this fall as dean and plans to rejoin the computer science and engineering faculty next year.

The performance of first-year players Kevin Butler and Jorge Redmon was particularly encouraging for sixth-year coach Scott Cross. Butler, a transfer from TCU, averaged 15.7 points and 7.7 rebounds on the Canada swing while playing fewer than 20 minutes per game. Redmon, a junior college transfer, scored 13 points per game while shooting 61 percent from the field, including 63 percent on three-pointers.

Perhaps more important, Cross saw significant improvement in the play of point guards Redmon, Shaquille White-Miller, and Cameron Catlett.

“It seems like our assist-to-turnover ratio woes from last year have been rectified,” Cross says. “A big part of that is having three point guards who are all playing significant minutes, and playing two of them at a time really helps in that area.”

Ironically, the upgraded point guard play came as the Mavericks emphasized an up-tempo style to increase fast breaks and apply pressure to the Canadian teams’ defenses. Cross expects to carry that style into the regular season.

The point guards weren’t alone in benefiting from the faster tempo. Cross half-joked that LaMarcus Reed III had more fast-break opportunities in five games than he did the entire 2010-11 season. Reed, a senior, finished as the team’s leading scorer with 17.2 points per game while also averaging 5.6 rebounds. On defense, the Mavericks used a suffocating man-to-man to hold three of their five opponents to 60 or fewer points.

UT Arlington begins its home schedule Nov. 14 in Texas Hall against East Texas Baptist and finishes Feb. 29 against Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the new College Park Center.