Dee and Charles Wyly to Endow $2-Million Chair at UT Dallas' Center for BrainHealth

DALLAS, Texas (March 16, 2004) — Dallas philanthropists and civic and business leaders Dee and Charles Wyly, who have been ardent supporters of The University of Texas at Dallas’ nationally acclaimed Center for BrainHealth virtually from its inception, today announced their intention to endow a $2-million academic chair at the center. The gift officially will be made through the Communities Foundation of Texas, of which Charles Wyly is chairman.

The Dee Wyly Distinguished Chair for Brain Health will be held by the director of the center, a position currently occupied by cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman. Chapman said the endowment would be used to further the center’s work in “understanding the workings of the human brain and correcting its disabling dysfunctions.

"The Wylys’ very generous gift will help us conduct cutting-edge research to achieve enhanced brain recovery across the spectrum of brain injuries and diseases for both children and adults, and it will enable us to accelerate our work with prominent scientists across the country to develop ways of actually viewing the brain as it changes in response to new learning and drug treatments.”

Dee Wyly has actively served on the Leadership Council of the Center for Brain Health from the council’s creation in 2000, providing visionary mentorship and dedicated support of the center’s mission of seeking better solutions to achieve brain heath.

“We are making this gift and endowing the distinguished chair because we believe that brain health is an extremely important issue, one that touches each and every one of us, and because we are very impressed with the work that Dr. Chapman and her colleagues at the center are doing,” Dee Wyly said. “In the years ahead, we expect to see major breakthroughs in the treatment of brain injuries and diseases, and some of those breakthroughs may arise from the magnificent work that is being done right here at the Center for BrainHealth in Dallas.”

The Center for BrainHealth, part of UTD’s School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, is now in the midst of a $20-million fundraising effort, which was kicked off at a reception two years ago at the Wylys’ home. The center is more than one-third of the way toward reaching that goal, Chapman said, and is in the process of acquiring a facility of its own to house its rapidly growing staff of research clinicians and scientists. The center, which is one of the few facilities of its kind in the United States, currently is located at UTD’s Callier Center for Communication Disorders on Inwood Road near downtown Dallas.

Dee and Charles Wyly have been involved in a wide range of philanthropic endeavors and have contribute to such causes as social services, churches, schools and universities, cultural activities and health care institutions. In addition to serving on the center’s Leadership Council, Dee Wyly is a member of Kidney Tex., Inc., Kick Drugs Out of America and Anderson Ranch Art Center in Colorado. Charles Wyly is co-founder and chairman of Michael’s Stores, Inc.

“The Wylys’ decision to endow a chair at the Center for BrainHealth is another example of their incredible generosity and commitment to making a difference in the lives of others for generations to come,” said UTD President Dr. Franklyn Jenifer. “Their extraordinary support is an inspiration to all of us – and, of course, is greatly appreciated.”

In recent years, U. T. Dallas has made a major commitment to research and training in the area of cognitive neuroscience. As a result of that commitment, the Center for BrainHealth was created in early 1999 to bring together researchers and clinicians to integrate cutting-edge brain research with clinical interventions and provide innovative programs and treatment for individuals with brain injuries, progressive brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and natural aging.

About the Center for BrainHealth

The Center for BrainHealth integrates research, treatment, academic training and community outreach. Through this innovative approach, the center is discovering commonalities across brain maladies that are yielding similarities in brain repair mechanisms resulting in new treatments for improving life for patients with brain injuries and diseases. The center is one of the few facilities in the U.S. 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. 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, please call 214-905-3007.

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 13,700 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 http://www.utdallas.edu.