Auburn University received the largest donation it has ever had in its 160-year history.
John and Rosemary Brown, both graduates of the University, announced their $57 million donation April 17. Of the donation, $30 million will go toward a student achievement center in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and $25 million will go toward a performing arts center. It has not been determined where the remaining $2 million will go.
Jane DiFolco Parker, vice president of development, said this donation has been a long process and the Browns chose carefully what they wanted to give.
“We had several opportunities to present different ideas to them about priority needs at the University,” Parker said. “The student achievement center and the performing arts center were the ideas that most resonated with them.”
Parker explained the motives behind building a new performing arts center.
“All great universities have a performing arts center, and we don’t have one, and a part of the educational experience for students in higher education is for students to not only focus on their discipline, but also to learn more about the world around them,” Parker said.
Sara Lynn Baird, chair of the department of music, said additional funds would be needed to complete the performing arts center, but this seed donation will get the ball rolling.
“The plan is to continue raising money to increase the fund, but the importance of a seed gift like that to spur others to give to the same project is extraordinary,” Baird said.
According to Baird, the music department has been short on space for their performances and has been anticipating a new performing arts center for many years.
“We’ve been talking about it for quite a while,” Baird said. “I’ve been here since 2009. Prior to that time, I think there were some preliminary plans or sketches, but nothing has planned definitively. This is long and coming, but very welcomed by all of the faculty and students.”
Baird said the community has been helpful in accommodating the music students when they were short on space and she was excited to give back to them.
“I think the vision is that this will serve not just the University, but the community,” Baird said.
The performing arts center is currently planned on being located across from the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, according to Parker.
“The plan right now is to locate it on South College across from the Jule Collins Smith Museum,” Parker said.
James Killian, director of communications and marketing in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, said the new student achievement center would expand many student programmatic support services within the College of Engineering.
“The first order of importance is to enhance our student support activities,” Killian said. “We want to attract the best students from the region and nation to get them to come to Auburn.”
The Student Achievement Center will tentatively house and create space for student recruiting, curriculum advising, career mentoring, tutoring, student projects, an international experience office, a leadership and professional development center, an industrial relations center and a career placement office.
“We have professional organizations and student societies that are always looking for places to meet,” Killian said. “A lot of them meet in departmental areas, which is good, but some of them work across all the disciplines, so we’re trying to find a place where they can meet.”
This donation will contribute to the “Because This is Auburn” campaign that aims to raise $1 billion for Auburn University by 2017. Parker said this is to benefit the student body.
“The entire campaign is about the students,” Parker said.
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