UNT Diamond Eagles Society

The Diamond Eagles Society is a group of difference-makers who have been collaborating to create positive change at UNT since 2017. Every year, each member makes a $1,000 contribution, then the gifts are pooled together to fund a high-impact campus project determined by a member majority vote.

Funded Projects

Diamond Eagles Community and Learning Area

From left to right: UNT ecology senior Chione (Kiwii) Lawton, Dr. Jaime Baxter-Slye and UNT ecology junior Kymie Creswell at the Diamond Eagles Project Reveal event in February 2023.

From left to right: UNT ecology senior Chione (Kiwii) Lawton, Dr. Jaime Baxter-Slye and UNT ecology junior Kymie Creswell at the Diamond Eagles Project Reveal event in February 2023.

The UNT Diamond Eagles Society recently selected the UNT Pollinative Prairie to receive $77,500 in funding for a new expansion project that will enhance outdoor learning, conservation and community event opportunities at the four-acre site at UNT’s Discovery Park.

The funding will support the development of the Diamond Eagles Community and Learning Area, which includes construction of a large covered pavilion, observational dock, signage and an accessible walkway to offer a more enjoyable experience while visitors are learning, researching or simply relaxing at the prairie and adjoining pond.

Diamond Eagles Garden at Mean Green Acres Hydroponic Farm

Dining Services employees harvest fresh greens at the UNT hydroponic farm, which will be relocated and expanded this fall thanks to funding from the UNT Diamond Eagles Society.

Dining Services employees harvest fresh greens at the UNT hydroponic farm, which will be relocated and expanded this fall thanks to funding from the UNT Diamond Eagles Society.

The team behind UNT Dining Services knows that food is more than just a source of nourishment — it’s one of the building blocks of a successful life. They’re on a mission to provide access to food that is fresh, local, delicious and as healthy as possible. And now, with the support of the UNT Diamond Eagles Society, Dining Services will expand and relocate its hydroponic farm, increasing access to hyperlocal food.

Mean Green Mobile Media

Dean Andrea Miller sees many ways to use the mobile equipment to educate students and serve the community, both while we face COVID-19 and in the future.

Dean Andrea Miller sees many ways to use the mobile equipment to educate students and serve the community, both while we face COVID-19 and in the future.

For Andrea Miller, dean of the Mayborn School of Journalism and interim chair of Media Arts, a used trailer presented a world of possibilities for the UNT community in the age of COVID-19. With a little help, she thought, the trailer could be transformed into a mobile production unit that would allow students to safely bring live events to the homes of fellow students, alumni and friends of the university.

Preserving and Presenting Fashion History

Digitization project will preserve artifacts, enable research and provide student professional development opportunities.

Digitization project will preserve artifacts, enable research and provide student professional development opportunities.

The UNT Diamond Eagles Society — donors who work together to fund an annual, high-impact project on campus — voted to support Digitizing the Texas Fashion Collection in 2019-20. Thanks to the group’s collective investment, more of the Texas Fashion Collection’s 20,000 historic and designer garments will be preserved and presented.

Digitizing the collection is a monumental task, and the people behind the Texas Fashion Collection have long been at work photographing their world-class items for access in publications and online as part of the Gloria and Bruzzy Westheimer Digital Archives.

Diamond Eagles Society to fund Students of Need: Suit Up, Fuel Up, Cap Up

Suit Up provides students with professional clothing to better prepare them for interview opportunities.

Suit Up provides students with professional clothing to better prepare them for interview opportunities.

Now in their second year, the UNT Diamond Eagles Giving Society has voted to fund Students of Need: Suit Up, Fuel Up, Cap Up, an exciting Student Affairs initiative that will promote student success and career readiness through three essential, need-based programs.

The estimated $90,000 in funding was generated through the Diamond Eagles’ unique venture philanthropy model, where members pool together annual, individual contributions of $1000+ to fund a high-impact campus project determined by a member majority vote.

Diamond Eagles Family Patio

Ribbon Cutting for the UNT Diamond Eagles Family Patio

Ribbon Cutting for the UNT Diamond Eagles Family Patio

On the first of September, a few hours before players and fans filled Apogee Stadium for the 2018 football season opener, an energetic crowd gathered on the brand-new Diamond Eagles Family Patio at the UNT Alumni Pavilion — the very first project for UNT’s innovative giving society.

The Diamond Eagles Society, co-founded in 2017 by Debbie Smatresk and Cathy Bryce (’91 Ph.D.), utilizes a venture capital model to select and support campus projects that positively impact the UNT community. In its inaugural year, 77 founding members generated more than $80,000 to build the Diamond Eagles Family Patio, an open, communal space that was designed with the goal of rallying former students.