Philanthropy at Texas (May-June 2011)

at texas May/June 2011

Preserving a Window to Prehistoric Texas The fight to save UT’s dinosaur tracks for future generations

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Contents P h i l a n t h r o p y

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cover dinosaur illustration courtesy karen carr ; contents photo courtesy marathon oil

Texas alumni at Houston’s Marathon Oil Corporation show their burnt-orange pride.

HELP SAVE UT’S DINOSAUR TRACKS $1 million campaign aims to create an educational new indoor space horns of plenty What private giving is making possible gift planning 101 Tax-wise opportunities to transfer wealth to loved ones while helping UT

Reprinted from

May/June 2011

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Philanthropy at Texas

ONE

HUNDRED AND TWELVE

MILLION

YEARS AGO...

ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE

MILLION YEARS AGO...

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20-ton, 60-foot-long sauropod squished across the muddy ground near present-day Glen Rose, 50 miles southwest of what we now call Fort Worth. A 30-foot-long theropod trailed the sauropod. Today, the unique fossilized tracks of these two great beasts reveal the story of their struggle for survival, and they can be seen any time, any day on the UT campus. But the tracks are in a fight of their own. Displayed in a small building outside of the University’s Texas Memorial Museum since 1941, they’re deteriorating. The plan is to move them into new exhibit space inside the museum, saving them from further degradation. The estimated cost of moving the tracks, reassembling them, and developing an appropriate educational exhibit for them is $1 million. And to get there, the Texas Natural Science Center has embarked on the Save the Dinosaur Tracks campaign.

The Alcalde May/June 2011

Natural history artist — and Texas native — Karen Carr depicts the mighty sauropod (left) and the theropod whose tracks are now in danger in her Glen Rose Confrontation. For information on saving the tracks visit savethedinosaurtracks.org.

Saving a Window into

Texas’ Prehistory

dinosaur illustration courtesy karen carr ; tracks photo courtesy tnsc archives

To preserve the Glen Rose Dinosaur Tracks, seen here in detail, the slab that contains them must be removed from its present location, treated, and relocated inside a climatecontrolled and environmentally safe building. A main alcove inside the Texas Memorial Museum’s Hall of Geology and Paleontology has been allocated as a space where the tracks can be displayed in an exhibit worthy of their importance. A large mural of the sauropod and theropod will help bring the fearsome dinos to vivid life in an educational exhibit that provides information about the animals, the age in which they lived, and scientists’ interpretations of dinosaur behavior as preserved in the two trackways.

Learn more about the Save the Dinosaur Tracks campaign at savethedinosaurtracks.org, and contribute any amount online or contact TNSC external affairs director Susan Romberg at 512-232-5654 or sromberg@mail.utexas.edu .

The Glen Rose Dinosaur Tracks were made 112 million years ago as the sauropod and theropod walked through coastal mud that is now exposed rock along the Paluxy River. Unfortunately, the building that houses the tracks is not well suited for their preservation. Severe moisture fluctuations and related problems are leading to deterioration of the stone.

Nor does the building provide for the best educational opportunities for people visiting the tracks, says Ed Theriot, director of the science center. “These tracks are a world-famous part of Texas’ natural history,” he says. “They are scientifically significant, but also an important tool for science education.

Future scientists, teachers, historians, and enthusiasts will all benefit from, and be inspired by, these tracks.”

The tracks are also unique because they capture a bit of extinct dinosaur behavior. “Measurements taken from the trackways allow us to estimate sizes, hip heights, and gaits of the track makers,” says Pamela Owen, a paleontologist at the science center. “We’ll never know the details, and the evidence is open to interpretation, but it does appear that the theropod was closely following the sauropod. Perhaps the theropod was even stalking the sauropod.” Or maybe they were just friends out for a stroll.

What scientists can say with certitude is that these sauropod tracks are the standard to which other similar tracks are scientifically compared. They, and others in the Paluxy River, show that sauropods walked on all four legs and roamed the area in a group. Kind of like Texas Longhorns.

The Alcalde May/June 2011

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Philanthropy at Texas

Horns of Plenty What private giving is making possible

It’s payback time for Houston’s Stuart W. Stedman, left, and he wouldn’t have it any

other way. Stedman, BA ’79, MBA ’85, DJ ’85, Life Member, has pledged $1 million through the Stedman West Foundation to provide scholarships to students in the Plan II Honors program and promote excellence in the Department of History. He says his undergraduate experience as a Plan II major with a concentration in history changed his life. His gift will undoubtedly do the same for future Texas students who tackle the Plan II core curriculum in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. “I transferred into UT my sophomore year. And even though my grades weren’t stellar, Plan II leaders saw something in me,” says Stedman. “Plan II made me an educated person in the most well-rounded sense. I owe a big debt to Plan II. So doing something significant for the program has always been on my list of things I wanted to accomplish in life.” Half of Stedman’s gift will create the Stuart W. Stedman Forty Acres Scholarship for Plan II. Established by the Texas Exes, Forty Acres Scholarships pay full tuition, fees, textbook costs, and living expenses for up to five years for top students. The other half of the gift will establish the Stuart W. Stedman Excellence Fund in History. The fund will be unique in its scope and size among the College of Liberal Arts’ departments, significantly expanding the chair’s ability to support and encourage exceptional teaching and research. Stedman is president of Stedman West Interests, Inc., a family investment company that manages securities, energy, and real estate.

Horns up? Check. Flag up? Check. As part of

Marathon Oil Corporation’s annual United Way campaign, one of the charity auction items gives the winner the honor of flying their alma mater’s flag in front of the Marathon Oil Tower in Houston for a one-month period around football bowl season. Last fall, the 150 UT alums at Marathon showed not only their school pride but also their charitable nature by pledging more than $4,000 to win the auction.

For 30 days, a distinctive burnt-orange flag, complete with a white longhorn, accompanied the United States and Texas flags in front of Marathon’s prominent headquarters on San Felipe Road — much to the delight of those 150 Marathon Longhorns and the many Exes who pass by the building daily. “It was great to see both the excitement and the competition” created by the flag auction, says John Connaway, BS ’87, Marathon’s executive sponsor for UT, “with the big winner being United Way.” The philanthropic spirit at Marathon extends beyond its home base, as well. The company has contributed more than $3 million to the University, much of it going to scholarships for students in engineering, geosciences, and business programs.

Red, white, and orange: Houston’s Marathon Oil Tower shows its Longhorn pride.

The time for action is NOW.

PLANNING101

Only gifts made in 2011 and 2012 qualify.

The $5 Million Tax Break…

And How to Use It to Transfer Wealth to Loved Ones While Helping UT In recent years, federal tax laws have undergone more revisions than a freshman’s term paper. Perhaps surprisingly for families crafting estate plans, the developments in Washington have generally resulted in less tax liability. Indeed, the latest major change provides an opportunity that, depending on your family’s situation, may be too good to pass up.

In December 2010 Congress amended the federal gift and estate tax law regarding gifts to loved ones made in 2011 and 2012.

The new law gives each taxpayer the right to pass up to $5 million to loved ones before January 1, 2013, without owing a cent in federal gift tax. At $5 million per individual

children, free of gift and estate taxes. He creates a charitable lead trust lasting 15 years (can be any number of years) and funds it with $1 million (there is no minimum or maximum amount) in cash or publicly traded securities. Each year the trust distributes $60,000 (can be any amount) to the University to be used as directed in the trust document. At the end of the 15 years, his children named in the trust document receive the trust assets, which could be worth more or less than the original $1 million.

Tom is actually making two gifts when he funds the trust with $1 million: (1) the annual distribution to UT for 15 years,

and create the kind of gift you’ve always wanted to make. Trusts can be created for any number of years, or for the duration of your lifetime. And the amount distributed annually to the University can be either a fixed dollar amount or a fixed percentage of the value of the trust assets, revalued annually. Your Gift Planning team liaison will work closely with your professional advisers, and there is never any cost or obligation to use the educational services the team provides.

The new law gives each taxpayer the right to pass up to $5 million to loved ones before January 1, 2013,

photos (left to right): callie richmond, courtesy marathon oil, dave mead

without owing a cent in federal gift tax. ($10 million per couple), this is five times the previous limit and represents the largest gift-tax exemption since before World War I. While carefully considering any such once-in-a-lifetime, irrevocable decision, you may be interested to know that you can use all or part of the $5 million exemption to create a charitable trust now that will make annual distributions to what you love at the University for a number of years — and then pass significantly more than $5 million to your loved ones in the future. The charitable lead trust has been part of the tax code since 1969, but now may be the perfect time to create and fund such a trust thanks to low interest rates and the large amount that can be passed to loved ones tax-free.

For illustration purposes, let’s say that Tom S., a proud Texas Ex, would like to make a significant gift to UT. He also wants to pass as much as possible to his

and (2) the gift to his children to receive the trust assets after 15 years. At the time the trust is funded, the economic value of the distributions to UT — $900,000 over 15 years — is $715,000. There is no gift tax on this amount because these are charitable distributions. The economic value of his children’s right to receive the trust assets is $285,000. So Tom uses only $285,000 of the $5 million he can pass gift-tax-free in 2011 or 2012 even though his children will receive more or less than $1 million after 15 years. And there will never be any additional gift or estate tax when the trust assets are distributed to his children, even if the assets are worth much more than $1 million.

As this illustration indicates, you don’t have to choose between providing for your loved ones and supporting the University — you can do both. UT’s Gift Planning team can help you support your passion

To learn more, call UT’s Gift Planning team at 512-475-9671 or toll free 866-4UTEXAS (488-3927), email giftplan@www.utexas.edu , or visit giving.utexas.edu/giftplanning .

“Philanthropy at Texas” is compiled and edited by Jamey Smith in the University Development Office. Your feedback and suggestions are welcome at jjsmith@austin.utexas.edu . For more philanthropic news and information, including ways you can give to UT, visit giving.utexas.edu .

The Alcalde May/June 2011