Baylor University Announces Gift Supporting Capital Priorities to Give Light Campaign

August 10, 2022

Gift from Katie and Jimmy Garrison provides momentum, naming of the Dimmitt Garrison Family Berm at McLane Stadium

Media Contact: Lori Fogleman, Baylor University Media and Public Relations, 254-709-5959
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WACO, Texas (Aug. 10, 2022) - Baylor University today announced a gift from Katie and Jimmy Garrison of Boerne, Texas, to support the Give Light Campaign and provide support for the capital priorities of Baylor Athletics within the campaign. Baylor will recognize the couple's philanthropic support through the naming of the Dimmitt Garrison Family Berm within McLane Stadium and the Dimmitt Garrison Family Lobby within the Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion.

"The Dimmitt Garrison family has truly established an inspiring legacy of family commitment at Baylor University," said President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D. "The family's commitment to Baylor's Christian mission is exemplified in their generational support of Baylor's students, faculty and staff. They understand the vision for the University, and their thoughtful, multi-generational approach to philanthropy is encouraging and inspiring. We are grateful for a family of Baylor alumni who value supporting Baylor's current priorities to ensure the institution's future growth and prominence."

The majority of Katie (BSEd '85) and Jimmy (BBA '85) Garrison's gift supports the capital priorities of the Give Light campaign, Baylor's comprehensive fundraising campaign which has seen the Baylor Family give more than $1.21 billion to support Illuminate, the University's strategic plan. A portion of their gift also will support student-athlete scholarships. The Garrisons' gift honors their family's legacy at Baylor, starting with Katie's mother, Kate McLane Dimmitt (BBA '56).

The Dimmitt Garrison Family Berm brings an attractive new feature to a well-loved space within McLane Stadium. The existing berm, located in the South End Zone in front of the video board, has long served as a family-friendly seating option for Baylor fans. This football season, fans will notice a new red brick retaining wall, capped in the University's iconic white stone, distinguishing the berm from the John Eddie Williams Field.

The Dimmitt Garrison Family Lobby will be a central gathering place within the Foster Pavilion, a 223,547-square-foot facility that will serve as the new home for Baylor Basketball. The pavilion will hold a capacity of more than 7,000 fans, with improved sight lines and an integrated concourse that will allow fans to remain fully engaged in the game while accessing concessions. Improved concessions and two 2,000-square-foot video end boards will help cultivate a boisterous home-court advantage to rival other facilities in the conference.

"We are grateful for the transformational support Katie and Jimmy Garrison, along with their children Martha and Samuel, have provided for the student-athletes, staff and coaches of Baylor Athletics. The berm now serves as a striking reminder of the life and legacy of Kate McLane Dimmitt," said Mack B. Rhoades IV, Baylor Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. "Their most recent gift to the Give Light Campaign will significantly contribute to our various capital projects, including the Paul & Alejandra Foster Pavilion and the Fudge Football Development Center, all while furthering our mission of Preparing Champions for Life. Their thoughtful generosity will support our student-athletes at all levels, and we are incredibly thankful for their commitment and impact on our programs."

Site preparation and ground work began on the Foster Pavilion in March 2022, with an expected opening of the Pavilion at the beginning of Big 12 play in January 2024. Construction will continue on the Development Center after the Pavilion's completion, with a later opening expected in April 2024. The Foster Pavilion complex will be located along the Brazos River on the west side of Interstate-35, adjacent to Baylor's Clifton Robinson Tower. The Pavilion will serve to further connect Baylor's campus to Robinson Tower and downtown Waco. To view more renderings and learn additional details about the project, please visit the Baylor Athletics page.

The seat selection process for the Foster Pavilion was announced in May. Learn more about that process here.

A legacy of support

Kate McLane Dimmitt, who passed away in 2017, was the first member of her family to attend Baylor and was soon followed by her younger brother, Drayton McLane (BBA '58). Katie then followed her mother and uncle to Baylor, meeting Jimmy during their time as students one Sunday at Penland Dining Hall, now known as The Penland Crossroads. Katie and Jimmy's children, Martha Garrison DePasquale (BS '12) and Samuel Garrison (BBA '17, MBA '18), also followed the family tradition at Baylor.

Katie Garrison serves as president of the Dimmitt Garrison Foundation. Jimmy is the owner of an aircraft brokerage company. Martha and her husband Derek DePasquale live in Houston, where she works in philanthropy at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and he is a drilling engineer. Samuel Garrison is a legislative assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The family chose to make their gift in honor of Kate McLane Dimmitt who, after the unexpected passing of her husband Malcolm Dimmitt, raised her daughter as a single mother while working full-time. She was known as a dedicated friend and woman of faith, a warm and welcoming presence within her church, and a mother, sister and friend who loved deeply and found the humor and wisdom in life that made her a light to all. After her retirement, she moved to Temple, Texas, where she built a strong network of friends and loved ones, becoming a pillar of her community and her church family.

Kate continued to serve her beloved alma mater, giving generously of her time, talents and treasure to support the University's leadership and foster success among its students. She used her philanthropy to inspire others, encouraging the Baylor Family to give back to the University and support its students. Her scholarships served as examples to students of the impact women can have through philanthropy. She was honored with the Baylor Legacy Award in 2014 and as a Distinguished Baylor Woman of Central Texas in 2005.

"For our family, being part of the larger Baylor family has really been the underpinning, the way we have lived our lives, the company we've kept. It's a connection that our family shares without really talking about it. It's who we are," Kate said in an interview from 2014.

Katie has continued Kate's legacy of philanthropy and impact - a tradition that Kate modeled from their earliest days as a mother-daughter team. As a family, Katie, Jimmy, Martha and Samuel have given this generous gift, honoring their family's history with the University while giving to its future through the Give Light Campaign.

Baylor publicly launched the Give Light campaign on Nov. 1, 2018. To date, the campaign has raised $1.22 billion, and Baylor Athletics, Baylor's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor Law School, Baylor Libraries, Baylor School of Music and Hankamer School of Business have surpassed their initial goals established at the start of the Give Light Campaign. The Campaign has seen 86,092 alumni, parents and friends give to the University's priorities, as well as establishing 710 endowed scholarships and 40 endowed faculty positions. For more information or to support Give Light: The Campaign for Baylor, visit www.baylor.edu/givelight.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.