Great job, Hank.
It's my first time to be at a UNT event where people settled down, so wow.
Well, welcome.
I am David Wolf, Vice President for University Advancement here at the University of North
Texas.
You can cheer for that.
And what a marvelous, amazing day it is to have all of us here together as a family and
via the internet.
We are streaming live, so behave.
But I want to thank you for joining us today for this very historic moment for all of us
together and for our university.
We are glad so many of you could be here with us.
I would like to point out a few special people.
Representative Richard Pena Raymond is here with us.
Thanks for joining us today, Richard.
Chancellor Lesa Roe, Chancellor of the University of North Texas System is here.
Chairman Brint Ryan is with us today.
Chairman Ryan.
Regent Mary Denny is with us.
Mary.
Regent A.K.
Mago is with us today.
And Regent Carlos Munguia is with us today.
Also joining us are several of our best donors.
I can't name them all, but our President's Leadership Board and others.
Wow.
Thank you all for coming.
A standing room only crowd.
This is fantastic.
And you're all looking really good.
You know, universities are places that change people's lives and help them to get a leg
up in the world, find a job, find their path, give them a sense of well-being through the
supportive and caring education that we give and that we are so proud to be entrusted with.
And here at the University of North Texas, we really take pride in the fact that we go
the extra mile.
We really help our students.
We help them through thick and thin.
We teach them if they're gonna fail, fail faster so that they can move ahead.
And we also hope that they will become the creative leaders of tomorrow.
In this crazy world, we need students who have grit and determination, students who
can weather challenges and difficulty.
And it is so wonderful when we get help in helping our students.
We have 38,000 students, and with a little luck we'll teach them all how to be nimble,
agile, and prepared to face whatever adversity they meet as they graduate.
Our campus is full of all kinds of people.
You heard our harp folks out here.
We have budding musicians, entrepreneurs, teachers, scientists, accountants, and people
who understand that education isn't just a way to change yourself -- it's a way to change
your whole family tree.
Because when you get a degree from a university, your brothers and sisters are more likely
to go to the university.
Your nieces and nephews will have a role model.
Your mothers and fathers will live a better life.
And in general, you are going to pay it forward serving as an exemplar.
And that's what we do here.
And it makes me incredibly proud of our university.
Now, our alumni have been so generous to us in the past.
And they've created a merge of excellence.
But we have one incredibly driven and accomplished man who is in the audience today, someone
who has made a huge difference.
But like most of our students who are hardworking, passionate contenders who want to make a difference
in the world, we enjoy the contributions that our alumni make when they figure out that
they didn't just get a job certificate but that they got their lives changed when they
came to this university.
So, at this time, we're going to allow a little bit of musical pomp and circumstance and a
selection from the College of Music festival brass ensemble.
And I would like to invite up two very special people, people who we are honored to have
here today.
I would like to invite up our Chairman, Brint Ryan, and his wife, Amanda Ryan to please
come to the stage along with Dean Wiley.
And fanfare, it's time to go.
Wow ... Thank you so much to the College of Music and to our wonderful brass ensemble.
Terrific job, and just a sample of the incredible things that are going on.
Well, what are we here for today?
We've been teasing you for awhile.
And here we are in the College of Business with Brint Ryan standing on the stage.
Gee, I wonder what's coming next.
Today, it gives me incredible pleasure to announce the largest gift that we have ever
received in our entire university's history, even adjusting for inflation.
A gift from our friend, a prestigious alum, and Chairman of the UNT System Board of Regents,
Brint Ryan and his family.
So first, big round of applause.
You are probably going to want to stay standing.
When you hear that, because of his generosity, Brint has agreed to present a gift of $30
million to the UNT's College of Business.
Now we need the fanfare.
Now, given that we have a non-majority of the Board of Regents here, I will say, pending
approval next week by our Board of Regents, we intend to name this college the G. Brint
Ryan College of Business.
So, for a man who's pushed us all hard to make us better, I couldn't ask for a better
gift or a better naming opportunity or a better name to name this college.
And all I can do now is see if Brint would like to say a few words and make sure he knows
he has my heartfelt thanks for everything that he does.
Oh, and we should have- Here it is.
Coming.
And we'll invite you all back later when it's up in fancy letters all over the place.
Brint, would you like to say a few remarks?
Thank you, President Smatresk.
You know, Amanda and I are thrilled to be among so many friends and supporters today
on this momentous occasion for UNT and the Ryan family.
I'm thrilled to have Chairman Richard Raymond, my good friend, here today.
And Chancellor Roe, thank you for coming.
I also have a number of the Board of Regents that David mentioned earlier, Carlos Munguia,
A.K.
Mago.
Mary Denny is here.
Thank you all for coming out.
Just so you know, this is proof that I put my money where my mouth is.
So when I'm complaining all the time, it's for the better of the university.
Also, I'm thrilled to have with me, of course, my wife Amanda who approved this gift.
Thank you, honey.
And I have with us today, also, three of our five lovely daughters, Annabelle Ryan, Victoria
Ryan, and Mary Rae Ryan.
I believe they are here representing their inheritance.
Just kidding, girls.
Just a joke.
When I arrived at North Texas State in the fall of 1982, I could not have imagined being
here today.
I was wild and undisciplined, and frankly more suited for the ranches of West Texas
than I was for the halls of academia.
I had no idea where I was going and no idea how to get there.
I came here with a lot of growing up to do, and it happened right here on this campus.
My eyes were opened to incredible possibilities.
I was challenged by some of the best minds in accounting and taxation.
Professors like Horace Brock, who very quickly disabused me of the idea that I was the smartest
kid in the room.
Professors like Hershel Anderson, who really lit the fire of creativity for me in tax,
really in a way no one has before or since.
It was professor Tom Klammer, and I'm thrilled that Professor Klammer is with us in the audience
today.
He was the one who patiently put up with my struggles in Intermediate II.
Dr. Klammer, I hope you know that I had nightmares about that class well into my 40's.
But folks, it was this experience that enabled me to start a small tax services firm, attract
some incredibly talented people like our COO Ginny Kissling who's here with us today, also
a UNT grad, our seventh employee by the way.
And it gave me the skills to lead that team from the beginning to the top of the tax services
and software industry.
Today, Ryan LLC is the largest firm in the world dedicated exclusively to business taxes,
with more than 2,500 professionals and associates serving over 14,000 clients in 50 countries
around the world.
It is this opportunity that I want to support for current and future students at UNT.
I want them to have an even better experience than I had.
I want to see them go out and change the world and, in the process, make UNT proud.
You know, Dr. Smatresk said, and I agree, that education is the great equalizer.
It not only changes the lives of graduates, but it changes the lives of their entire families
and, in some cases, even generations of families.
It brings people out of poverty.
And it propels our civil society.
Amanda and I believe there is no greater investment that we can make.
We've both lived it firsthand, and we're thrilled to be able to invest in the incredible mission
of the UNT College of Business.
And Dr. Smatresk, Board of Regents, I am profoundly grateful that the university has decided to
name the college in my honor.
You know, I couldn't begin to thank all of the people that made this possible.
I do, however, want to give special thanks to one very important individual, my father
George Alden Ryan.
His health doesn't permit him to be with us today, but his contribution was the most valuable
of all.
When I decided to defer coming to North Texas State to wait for my girlfriend at Big Spring
High, his response was a simple, "Hell no."
It was "go to college or get a job at the refinery."
And, you know, that wasn't a hard choice.
And for that, Amanda and I both thank him very much.
When my partying got a little out of control, and I got in some trouble with Denton's finest,
it was Dad that took care of it.
Without Dad, I wouldn't have been here, and I wouldn't have been able to stay here.
So, Dad, if you're watching on Facebook, thank you very much.
Finally, I want to thank those major donors that are here with us today, that have also
given generously of their time and treasure.
They give to make UNT a better place.
Ernie Kuehne, Jim McNatt, C. Dan Smith, Don Potts, Frank Bracken, Bryan Milner, Bob Sherman,
I want you to know I'm proud to be in your company.
Go Mean Green.
Thank you, Brint.
And as a token of our gratitude, I will say a very small token but it's just the beginning,
we would like to present you with this certificate of appreciation.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The naming of a college is a very important and special signal.
And to us, this naming conveys four things.
First, it's a very important symbol of support and commitment that signifies our value to
the world.
It brings resources that immeasurably increase our impact on the lives of our students and
of the corporate community we serve.
It recognizes the tremendous leadership and business success demonstrated by Brint Ryan,
one of our own graduates.
And because his name will lead the college, it inspires our students to reach higher,
to see what he has done, and to believe that their own opportunities are achievable.
So on behalf of the college, all of our faculty and students and staff, thank you for this
supreme act of generosity which will surely transform the future for our business students,
faculty, and alumni.
Thank you, Dean Wiley.
I noticed Brint was looking at the certificate.
It's the first diploma with his own college name on it, and we wanted to make sure he
got to be the first for that.
Well, thank you all for being here with us today.
It is an amazing day to be a part of the Mean Green family.
And we are so appreciative of all of you for sharing in this experience with us.
I want to especially say thank you to Brint and Amanda.
Thank you for your leadership and your generosity.
You are difference-makers.
This has been a highlight of the things that we accomplish every day, University Advancement,
and I appreciate you allowing me to be a part of the ride.
I would like to give a couple of shout-outs to some campus partners that have helped us
so much today.
First of all, to the UNT System Office of General Counsel.
Nancy Footer and Alan Stucky, thank you for all your help.
To the UNT Foundation Board, specifically Mike Mlinac and Bob Sherman, thank you for
your teamwork.
To Dean Wiley and the College of Business, University Facilities for helping us today,
and Dean Richmond and the College of Music for providing the excellent music today.
And lastly, to my colleagues in University Advancement, thank you for putting up with
me for the last couple of months and not knowing what I was doing.
Again, today marks a very important day in the history of the University of North Texas.
I hope you will share and tweet and repost things, 'cause I want the world to know that
today we have a named College of Business, the G. Brint Ryan College of Business.
The housecleaning part is we will be conducting some media interviews after this is over.
So please stick around, enjoy the refreshments.
And thanks again.
And what do we do when we end something?
There's three magic words.
Go Mean Green.
Go Mean Green.
Thank you.
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