Windgate Foundation donates $3 million to UA Little Rock for Windgate Center of Art and Design
by September 10, 2020 4:58 pm 603 views
Windgate Center of Art and Design.
The Windgate Foundation has gifted more than $3 million to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock for a center for art and design.
The gift will be used to establish a maintenance endowment fund for the Windgate Center of Art and Design. The endowment will finance long-term major capital renewal and maintenance projects for the Windgate Center. In addition to the endowed fund, the foundation gave a gift of $42,020 to be used this year for immediate maintenance needs.
“The generous gift by the Windgate Foundation for the creation of a building maintenance endowment for the Windgate Center could not have come at a better time,” said UA Little Rock Chancellor Christina Drale. “The upkeep of facilities and grounds across the campus is of critical significance to the university’s capability to fulfill its mission and provide a transformational educational experience for our students.”
“Nobody wants to learn or work in a place that is not properly maintained, and it makes sense to support the Center of Art + Design building into the future,” said Patricia Forgy, executive director of the Windgate Foundation. “This attention to infrastructure by UA Little Rock leadership will benefit both students and our community by providing a well-kept and welcoming place for learning and collaboration.”
The Windgate Center opened for instruction and student use in January 2018. It is a state-of-the art facility for instruction in the visual arts. The center was designed for the purpose of teaching specific media in its classrooms and studios.
Two galleries in the Windgate Center provide spaces for showing the university’s permanent art collection, recent student and faculty artwork, and exhibitions borrowed from other institutions.
The Windgate Center of Art and Design Building Maintenance Endowment can cover these and future maintenance expenses, such as repairs and eventual replacement of the Windgate Center’s parking lot and roof.