February 20, 2004

Whitney Bank cashes in for new campaign

Loyola is one step closer to building a new center for visual and performing arts with a recent major gift of $500,000 from Whitney National Bank to The Centennial Campaign. The gift will provide an important naming opportunity within the former library building on campus that is being renovated into the new Center for Visual and Performing Arts. "Whitney National Bank is proud to continue its partnership with Loyola University New Orleans and its Centennial Campaign. The Center for Visual and Performing Arts will provide the perfect venue to support a diverse and talented student body and preserve and expand its distinct culture and campus community," William L. Marks, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, commented.

The Centennial Campaign for Loyola University New Orleans is currently in its silent phase, but will go public once an appropriate number of leadership gifts has been secured.

The overall goal of the campaign is to raise $30,000,000 for capital and endowment purposes, but the primary focus of the campaign effort is to renovate and expand the former library building on main campus into the Center for Visual and Performing Arts. This project, which represents $20 million of the campaign goal, will provide a shared place on campus for the Department of Visual Arts and the Department of Drama and Speech. According to Dr. Walter Harris, provost and vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculties, "This new building will permit us to house, in a more appropriate manner, what is already a fine visual arts program and a highly regarded drama and speech department and, more importantly, help facilitate ours as a leading edge curriculum. Consequently, we would expect to have even more influence in the arts community and, ultimately, we would expect the new structure to serve not only our students, faculty, and staff but members of the metropolitan area and state as well."

Gifts for the endowment portion of the campaign, a $10- million effort to fund scholarships, professorships, and chairs, are currently well above the projected target. While fund-raising for the building renovation has been moving at a slower pace, there have been several substantial gifts made for the initiative and many solicitations outstanding. However, the recent Whitney Bank gift represents the largest single contribution of the campaign so far. A critical part of the new building will be named in honor of Whitney National Bank. The grand central staircase, bathed in light and open to three floors, will link the existing building to its expansion, as well as provide access to the existing second floor and the additional floor. The staircase will be named for Whitney.

The Centennial Campaign seeks to improve the university's facilities to meet the demands of a 21^st century education. The new Center for Visual and Performing Arts will not only benefit the College of Arts and Sciences, but the entire campus and faculty, staff, and students at Loyola, as well as the community at large. According to Dr. Harris, "Metropolitan New Orleans represents a very vibrant arts community, and we here at Loyola University provide excellent education and training for and produce dynamic offerings in the arts both for our campus and the New Orleans area."

Gifts may be extended over a three-year period. Endowments for scholarships, professorships, and chairs may be permanently named in honor of the donor, and support for capital improvements to the building may be recognized with naming opportunities within the building. If interested in making a campaign contribution, please contact Darleen Lugenbuhl, director of Capital Campaigns, at 861-5567, or dlugenbu@loyno.edu.

—Claire Kuehn, Assistant Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations