The Utley Family Foundation Gives $350,000 to SOM Building Fund

By Kristen Hurst


For Ann K. Utley, giving back to the university that gave her so much is
simply an extension of her personal philosophy that public-private
partnerships are good for every facet of society.

The Utley Family Foundation, of which Ms. Utley is chairwoman and
president, recently donated $350,000 to The School of Management
building fund, helping to pay for construction of the new School of
Management building that opened its doors to students in 2003.

The sole purpose of the Utley Family Foundation is to support The
University of Texas at Dallas in its educational excellence and
progressive vision, offering exemplary educational value to students
while affording professors and administration unique and distinctive
opportunities.

Ms. Utley created the foundation in 2003 to provide a long-term funding
source for the university she loves, where both she and her son, Brian,
earned degrees.

"I care about the university," Ms. Utley says. "UTD's focus on
excellence, its exemplary professors and management staff, its research
capabilities and its president have all made this university grow; and
it's been exceptional. We in the Dallas area are so fortunate to have
this progressive university."

Ms. Utley earned her master's degree in business administration from The
School of Management through the Executive MBA Program in 1997, after
extensive undergraduate studies at various schools and a lengthy
volunteer career focused on the arts, healthcare and mental retardation.
She earned a Distinguished Alumni Award from The School of Management in
2000, served for many years on UTD's Development Board, and today serves
on The School of Management Advisory Council.

Currently, Ms. Utley is the chief executive officer and chief financial
officer of TextOrder, an Austin-based company that provides online
procurement and inventory management services for textbooks,
instructional materials and programs for school districts, state
governments and other educational entities. She also has served as
analyst for Utley Group, a private equity firm, and has been an owner of
and the financial manager for Salado Galleries in Salado, Texas, for 23
years.

Before seeking her MBA at UTD, Ms. Utley served seven years as
chairwoman of the board of the Texas Department of Mental Health and
Mental Retardation, the state's largest agency, with a $3.5 billion
bi-annual budget and 24,000 employees. She was appointed to that job by
Governor Ann Richards in 1991 and retained by Governor George W. Bush.
During her tenure, she oversaw agency reform and was able to negotiate
public-private partnerships that provided better service for patients
and more effectively utilized state dollars.

"I'm a firm believer that the best way for public and private entities
to operate is to work together to make sure that there's adequate
funding and to assure excellence," Ms. Utley says.

It's this belief in public-private partnerships that served as the idea
for the Utley Family Foundation, which continues to generously support
UTD and The School of Management with contributions that help ensure the
highest-quality educational opportunities for every student.

For more information on The School of Management Building for the Future
Fund, contact Dr. Diane S. McNulty, Associate Dean, School of
Management, The University of Texas at Dallas, P.O. Box 830688, SM42,
Richardson, TX 75083-0688.