Campaign receives $6.5M of momentum in two months

With growing momentum to close out its building campaign, the U-M Museum of Art (UMMA) in December and January received more than $6.5 million in new gifts towards the museum's $35.4 million facility expansion and restoration project.

Among the gifts are: $4 million from A. Alfred Taubman, alumnus and founder of Taubman Centers, Inc., a pioneer in mall and retail design, to be recognized in the naming of the suite of temporary exhibition spaces; $1 million from Chicago attorney and U-M alumnus Irving Stenn, Jr. to be recognized in the naming of the Project Gallery for contemporary art; $500,000 from SeAH Steel Corp. chairman and alumnus Woon-Hyung Lee that matches a $500,000 pledge from the Korea Foundation to create a new gallery of Korean art; and $250,000 from an anonymous donor to name the future curatorial research center and library in honor of Marvin and Phyllis Dolinko of Highland Park, Ill.

In addition, more than 100 gifts and pledges totaling more than $250,000 came from the museum's diverse community of supporters during the two-month period.

"With these latest gifts to our Museum of Art, donors are helping to broaden the University's arts offerings and the many ways we enlighten and engage the campus and all of southeastern Michigan," President Mary Sue Coleman says. "The dynamic new space of the UMMA will further our commitment to showcasing exciting, unique works for the community."

As of January, the museum had raised more than 92 percent of the total project cost. A $1.5 million challenge grant pledged by the Kresge Foundation of Troy, Mich., requires UMMA to raise the remaining amount in new gifts and grants by the targeted completion date of June 1 in order to receive the money. Construction will begin when fund-raising is complete. The UMMA effort is part of U-M's $2.5 billion campaign, The Michigan Difference.

"Our announcement of these four leadership gifts caps an incredible two months in the museum's campaign and I am confident this momentum will carry us the rest of the way," says UMMA Director James Steward. "The A. Alfred Taubman Galleries, the Irving Stenn, Jr. Family Project Gallery, the Woon-Hyung Lee and Korea Foundation Gallery of Korean Art, and the Marvin and Phyllis Dolinko Curatorial Research Center ensure UMMA's place at the forefront of university art museums.

"Each of these spaces is essential to our vision of a welcoming, dynamic, and innovative museum for the future that brings together cutting edge scholarship, fresh curatorial thinking, and broad accessibility."

The Taubman Galleries will host most of the museum's future temporary exhibitions.

"The University of Michigan Art Museum is an extraordinary cultural resource for students, faculty and the greater arts community. Its collection and architecture were certainly inspirational to me during my years on campus," Taubman says. "I am delighted to be able to provide support for the Museum's exciting restoration and expansion plans. My hope is that this revitalized jewel will continue to inspire students, scholars, artists and art lovers for generations to come."

The Irving Stenn, Jr. Family Project Gallery will face State Street and be one of the most visible spaces in the new wing. It will be dedicated to experimental and installation projects by contemporary artists, as well as to experimental and revisionist exhibitions of earlier work.

"I wanted to do something different," says Steen, who received his bachelor of arts and law degrees from U-M in 1952 and 1955, respectively. "I am always challenged by young artists and supporting their work is important, especially at a university art museum."

Based in Seoul, Woon-Hyung Lee earned his master of business administration from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business in 1974. The gift represents his first major philanthropic gift to a U.S. institution.

"I am very pleased to be able to leverage the Korea Foundation's wonderful $500,000 pledge in order to make the Korea gallery a reality for UMMA's glorious new facility," Lee says. "I hope this gift will promote the study of Korean art and history at Michigan and will serve as a legacy for my family's strong ties to the University."

The Marvin and Phyllis Dolinko Curatorial Research Center, to be sited on the lower level of the museum's addition, will act as a focal point for the curatorial and education departments of the museum and for their research functions. It will contain a core reference library and arts periodicals for the use of museum staff, docents, researchers and students.

The Kresge Foundation is an independent, private foundation created by the personal gifts of Sebastian S. Kresge.