UT eTribute: An online way to honor someone special and support The University of Texas at Austin

June 16, 2006

AUSTIN, Texas—The University of Texas at Austin has introduced UT eTribute, a new Web site where students, faculty, alumni and friends can create personal tributes in honor of special people or events in their lives.

The site was conceived as “a unique way to engage with the university and leave lasting legacies,” said Shirley Bird Perry, senior vice president, who coordinated the project.

“UT eTribute is an innovative way to stay connected to the university community,” said President William Powers Jr. “I hope many people in the UT family will choose to celebrate an extraordinary occasion or achievement and share it with those they care about and want to honor.”

Creators of tributes can personalize their entries with text, photos and video clips or select from 70 campus photos and audio images in the eTribute media gallery. Each tribute will be posted permanently on the university’s Web site. Everyone who creates a tribute also makes a gift to the university. Donations range from $100 to $1,000 and above. Proceeds will help support the Tower Garden, the area just north of the UT Tower that is known to generations as “the turtle pond.”

“UT eTribute is unlike a memorial brick or plaque, as the tributes can be seen and appreciated by anyone at any location around the world with access to the Web,” Perry said. “With spring commencement now behind us, many parents may wish to commemorate their graduate’s achievement in this distinctive manner.”

Perry led a committee from the offices of the President, Development, Information Technology, and Relationship Management & University Events and the Design Center, units of Public Affairs, which worked with Austin-based Olive Design over several months to develop the site.

For more information contact: Jim Kunetka, Office of the Vice President for Development, 512-475-9641.