DALLAS, Texas (May 4, 2005) — The University of Texas at Dallas’ Center for BrainHealth, which has begun building a national reputation for groundbreaking research in the brain sciences, has received gifts from two Dallas couples totaling $1 million. The monies, in part, will be used to aid in the completion of the center’s new 63,000-square-foot research facility, located at 2200 Mockingbird Lane in Dallas, near the campus of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
The donors are Jean Ann and Steve Brock and Claudia and Jerry Stool. The Brocks contributed $500,000, half of which will be applied toward the purchase, expansion and renovation of the building. The remainder of their gift will be earmarked to fund research on learning problems facing children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), in collaboration with the Shelton School, a private, co-ed school in Dallas that serves children with learning differences.
The Stools also gave $500,000. Of that, $50,000 will be applied toward the building, $200,000 will be used for research with the Shelton School and $250,000 will be designated for research about Alzheimer’s disease.
When the renovation and expansion of the building are completed in May of next year, the Mockingbird Lane facility will house more than 80 researchers, post-doctoral fellows, doctoral and master’s students and research clinicians. The center’s director, Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman, who also holds the Dee Wyly Distinguished Chair for Brain Health, anticipates that as many as 50 projects will be ongoing at any given time, ranging from translating neuroscience breakthroughs into new treatments for children and adults affected by brain dysfunction to research about stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, normal aging complications and psychiatric diseases.
The center’s new home will be named the Frances and Mildred Goad Building and will have 24 pillars at its façade, recognizing the founding donors and their generous support. The Brocks and the Stools each will have a pillar.
“We are so grateful to the Brocks and the Stools. Their generosity will allow us to expand our reach and help as many as 10,000 individuals annually,” Chapman said. “It is our goal that the center be the premier brain-research institution of its kind, and now we are one step closer to realizing that objective.”
Jean Ann Brock said, “We are excited to contribute to the center’s new facility, but beyond that, we are pleased that a portion of our gift also will be dedicated to important new research initiatives in the area of ADHD, particularly in collaboration with the Shelton School. Understanding how the brain works will dramatically enhance educational approaches for children. I feel medicating is widespread in children with ADHD — without knowing the long term effects — and we are hoping for alternative approaches. Because brain science is a constantly evolving field, there always will be a need for further research, and Dr. Chapman’s center clearly continues to rise to the occasion on that front.”
Claudia Stool said that she and her husband became involved with the Center for BrainHealth because of memory or learning problems that some of their relatives developed.
“As a result of meeting Dr. Chapman, we learned about the work the center is engaged in, and we believe it serves as a vital resource for the community,” Mrs. Stool said. “We are very excited to be able to help nurture the center’s growth, and it is particularly heartwarming and meaningful to me, as the building will be named after my grandmother, Mildred Goad, and my aunt, Frances Goad Cecil. In addition, we wanted to help build bridges of expertise between the center and the Shelton School, which is one of the premier schools for learning differences in the country.”
The campaign to provide the Center for BrainHealth, which is part of UTD’s School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, with a building of its own began last fall, when philanthropist Dianne Cash pledged $5 million to the cause. Ms. Cash’s mother is Frances Goad Cecil, and her grandmother is Mildred Crews Goad. Although UTD matched that amount and others have contributed along the way, an additional $2 million still is needed to complete the renovations and to fund equipment. Currently, the center is housed at UTD’s Callier Center for Communication Disorders, which also is located near downtown Dallas and UT Southwestern.
About the Center for BrainHealth
The Center for BrainHealth integrates research, treatment, academic training and community outreach and is one of the few facilities in the United States to provide continued follow-up to enhance and monitor functional recovery in children and adults with brain injury, brain disease and complications of normal aging. Through this innovative approach, the center is discovering commonalities across brain maladies that are yielding similarities in brain repair mechanisms and resulting in new treatments for improving life for patients with brain injuries and diseases. One of the center’s top priorities is achieving healthy mental aging by translating scientific findings into treatment. For more information about the Center for BrainHealth and its work, please visit the organization’s web site www.centerforbrainhealth.org.
About UTD
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls more than 14,000 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s web site at www.utdallas.edu.