Donor Profiles
Overview
Why would someone give away a portion of their hard-earned assets? Over the years we’ve discovered that it is not a logical decision, but an emotional one. Many of our most generous friends and alumni consider their gift of a scholarship fund as an investment … certainly in the life of the scholarship recipient, but also an investment in the future of our state and nation. In the process of giving, we hear time and time again how it is the donor who is enriched by the experience. In giving, they end up receiving! Here are some of their stories.
Drs. Janine and Chuck Kraus
Drs. Janine and Chuck Kraus are passionate about music, education, and each other. In fact, they met as members of the United States Army Band program. The couple, now both in their 30s, married while Janine was finishing her bachelor’s degree in Maryland. She then came to UNT to work for the alumni association.
Chuck began work on his undergraduate degree at UNT, which started them on a path that would lead to UNT master’s degrees and doctorates, for both of them. Janine earned her PhD. in Higher Education in 2006. She now serves as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Annual Giving Programs at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. Chuck completed his EdD. in Higher Education in 2010 and is now the Director of Bands at Fort Worth Country Day School.
Chuck and Janine recently arranged to leave a generous bequest to UNT, to establish a scholarship endowment for music students at their alma mater. And they plan to grow their gift to UNT, where all their passions grew.
“Supporting UNT is important to us. We give back to our alma mater now to help current students. But we want to leave a legacy for future generations,” Janine says. “We received an excellent education at UNT, and we want other students to benefit from a North Texas education.”
Lindy and John Rydman
Lindy and John Rydman met when both were music education majors at what was then North Texas State University. They married in 1971, a year before they both graduated. The Rydmans then moved to Houston to work in her family’s business, Spec’s Liquors. Named for her father, Carroll B.“Spec” Jackson, the retail liquor seller was founded by Carroll and his wife, Carolyn. The Rydmans took over the business in 1996 after Lindy’s parents died, and they have grown Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods into what the Houston Press has called the “Best Liquor Store” for eight consecutive years.
In 1996, John and Lindy established the Spec’s Charitable Foundation with the purpose of supporting educational programs. Beginning in 1999, the foundation began to fund a scholarship and an endowment at the University of North Texas, and a scholarship with the Galveston-Houston Catholic Diocese. They are founding sponsors of the Hilton School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston. They are also underwriters of the University of North Texas’ renowned One O’Clock Lab Band and the Houston Symphony’s Salute to Music Educators Concert. The Rydmans also sponsor Houston Symphony cellist, Anthony Katai. Their fundraising is boosted by an annual dinner and an annual golf tournament in Houston.
The Rydmans have earned numerous honors from the liquor industry and recognition for public service and philanthropy. The University of North Texas awarded them the Green Glory distinction at its 2001 Alumni Awards dinner, and they received the Martha Turner Award of Distinction from the University of North Texas Alumni Association in 2004.