Dallas Legal and Business Leaders Power New Dallas UDL

As the Dallas Urban Debate League heads into its inaugural season, it does so with substantial backing of the legal and business community in Dallas.

The Dallas Urban Debate League Advisory Board was formed one year ago, under the chairmanship of Hughes & Luce LLP Partner and former Dartmouth and St. Mark’s School debater, Craig Budner.  Last December, Mr. Budner hosted a reception in his North Dallas home, which inaugurated a ten-month effort to generate substantial enthusiasm and private sector support for a Dallas Urban Debate League. The Dallas UDL Advisory Board now includes ten additional business, legal, non-profit, and academic leaders.  Rosser Newton, Managing Director of The Petro Capital Group, LLC, explains what led him to become a member of the Dallas UDL Advisory Board.  “I accepted Craig’s invitation to join the Dallas UDL Board because I support Craig and believe in what he is trying to do, and because I believe that academic debate has the potential to change these kids’ lives.  I intend to work with my fellow board members to make the Dallas UDL a resounding success.”  

The Dallas UDL Advisory Board has already met six times, developed a successful fund-raising strategy, committed to raising at least $160,000 this fiscal year, and hired a full-time Coordinator to lead the programmatic implementation of the UDL. It has already made substantial progress towards achieving its yearly fund-raising target in received grants, individual contributions, and pledges. "We'd like to begin putting money in the bank for future years," according to Chairman Budner. The NAUDL has worked in Dallas, as it is in other cities, to create school system ownership. This includes school system administration of the UDL, and covering the school-site costs of the League. The Advisory Board leverages that public investment with funding for a range of other costs, including the salary of the full-time Coordinator, regional debate travel, instructional resources, summer debate institute training, and a year-end banquet.

In particular, the legal community has shown its confidence in the Dallas UDL Advisory Board by providing a generous level of financial support to the League.  The Dallas Urban Debate League received the single largest grant given this year by the Texas Bar Foundation, $50,000, and it has also received significant grants from the Dallas Bar Foundation and the Dallas Young Lawyer’s Association.  Debate has long been one pipeline through which intelligent, promising students develop an interest in and skills central to a legal career.  Through their generous support, these three organizations have provided crucial leadership for the creation of a pipeline into the legal profession for students from largely low-income, minority secondary schools in Dallas.  The Dallas UDL will, therefore, help develop the next generation of Latino and African American leadership in the law by exposing students to opportunities relevant to, and promoting skills and interest in, a future career in law.  This support represents a substantial investment in urban debate, in the Dallas Independent School District, and in the future of Dallas itself.  And for that, all of us are grateful.