Alumnus Pledges Support to Create Research Fund for Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Dr. Steve Niemcryk BS’81, MS’83 fondly recalls his years at The University of Texas at Dallas. As a dual graduate of the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Niemcryk wanted to give back to the school that gave him the foundational skills to be the epidemiologist he is today. A recent planned gift commitment will create the Steve and Josie Niemcryk Endowment Fund for the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

“As I wrapped up my bachelor’s degree, I was approached by Dr. Bert Moore to get some research experience, and I loved it,” Niemcryk said. “My work with Bert helped get me into a doctoral program at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, where I studied to be an epidemiologist. My experience at UTD was terrific, and that is the reason I thought of UT Dallas as a recipient of a cash gift. The faculty here is very strong.”

Since graduation, Niemcryk has had several notable jobs. He was an epidemiologist for the federal government and a pharmacoepidemiologist with global responsibilities in the industry. Before retiring, he worked as the lead safety epidemiologist at BeiGene in North Carolina.

Although UT Dallas’ campus has grown tremendously since he last visited in 1983, Niemcryk laughs at how big it was to him all those years ago.

“Campus was a lot smaller back then,” Niemcryk said. “However, I was awestruck when I arrived. The first thing I was told was I had to get an advisor to sign off on some course registration paperwork. They said, ‘Go outside to the green building.’ Well, I went out from the registration area in the library and went looking for a building that was green. I eventually found Green Hall, but truly, I thought the campus was amazing back then.”

Today, Cecil H. Green Hall is home to the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences and houses offices for the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. Seeing it again is one of Niemcryk’s top priorities for a future visit to campus.

“It’s been a long time, but I love seeing news about the athletic teams and a lot of the other activities going on that didn’t happen when I was there,” Niemcryk said. “It’s wonderful to see how it’s grown. One of these days we’ll make it back and look around the campus.”

Dr. Margaret Owen, interim dean of the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, is also a child development researcher. After teaching at UTD for almost 30 years, she has a firsthand understanding of the significance of the Niemcryks’ gift.

“We are incredibly grateful for Steve and Josie Niemcryks’ generosity,” Owen said. “To be honored in a such a significant way from Dr. Niemcryk, an alumnus, holds a lot of meaning, and the impact of this kindness will be felt in countless aspects of our school.”

Niemcryk is giving back to his alma mater by establishing an endowment through a planned giving commitment. He hopes his gift will support students looking to pursue research in their careers and fund research needs of postdoctoral students.

“We decided that it would be good to put students at UT Dallas at the forefront of the list of folks we want to help out because my experiences gave me the foundation for the rest of my career,” Niemcryk said. “I hope this gift will give someone the resources and assistance they need to go on to do something that helps people now and in the future.”