The University of Iowa, the University of Iowa Foundation, and the UI arts community hosted the Celebration of Partnership on Friday, June 14—an event that honored shared efforts to rebuild UI arts facilities following the historic flood of 2008.
An integral piece of the efforts to rebuild is Arts & Minds: Building on Iowa’s Creative Legacy, a $30 million campaign for private gift support for replacement facilities for Hancher, the School of Music, and the School of Art and Art History. Arts & Minds is part of For Iowa. Forever More., the UI's $1.7 billion comprehensive campaign, which will run through 2016. Both campaigns are being conducted by the UI Foundation.
“Never before has there been an opportunity for Iowans to support the arts on this scale.”
—Lynette Marshall, president and CEO, University of Iowa Foundation
The support secured through Arts & Minds will bridge the gap between other sources of funding—from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), UI insurance, and the state of Iowa—and the total cost to rebuild. Lead gifts to Arts & Minds include $1 million each from longtime UI supporters John and Susan Strauss, and Len and Marlene Hadley. Arts & Minds is being co-chaired by Jane Downer and Steve West, and is designed to help restore campus infrastructure and strengthen the UI’s arts programs. Downer calls Arts & Minds a time of great opportunity for the arts at Iowa.
“The flood of 2008 left students and faculty—as well as their work—displaced throughout and beyond campus,” says Downer. “But this tremendous challenge has also provided a great opportunity for the university to envision a new arts campus. This campaign is a crucial step forward in providing state-of-the-art facilities for Hancher, the School of Music, and the School of Art and Art History.”
“The Arts & Minds campaign provides a remarkable opportunity to assure that future students, faculty, and all Iowans will have access to the arts in three world-class facilities,” says West. “Seldom can a gift to a campaign have such a profound and immediate effect on generations to come.”
Lynette Marshall, president and CEO of the UI Foundation, calls Arts & Minds a historic opportunity for Iowa.
“These are exceptional times for the arts at the University of Iowa, and we are looking to UI friends and alumni for exceptional support,” says Marshall. “Never before has there been an opportunity for Iowans to support the arts on this scale."
To learn more about Arts & Minds: Building on Iowa’s Creative Legacy, visit www.uifoundation.org/artscampaign.
About the University of Iowa Foundation
The University of Iowa Foundation’s mission is advancing the University of Iowa and fulfilling the aspirations of those it serves. The university’s dedicated contributors fund a broad array of needs, from student scholarships, breakthrough research, and life-changing health care to innovative facilities, community outreach, and global education.
The University of Iowa Foundation is the preferred channel for private contributions that benefit all areas of the University of Iowa. For more information about the foundation and the campaign, visit the foundation website at www.uifoundation.org.