CONWAY — University of Central Arkansas President Houston Davis said the Windgate Foundation’s $20 million donation to his school is a “transformative gift” and added Tuesday was “the biggest day in the history of the institution.”
The $20 million is five times larger than the next biggest donation to the university in its 111 years and will be divided two ways.
The largest amount, $19 million, will be used to build the Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts, while the remaining $1 million will go to fund scholarships for the arts.
Formerly based in Siloam Springs, the Windgate Foundation is now in Little Rock and is supported by donations of Wal-Mart stock. It has given $751 million, and counting, to the arts since it was founded in 1993.
Robyn Horn, a wood sculptor and painter in Little Rock, serves on the board of the Windgate Foundation and was on hand for the announcement.
“UCA has a terrific art department faculty,” Horn said. “It was the facilities that were lacking and we felt that if they had a facility that was conducive to teaching, then they will be able to do an even better job.”
And what a facility it will be.
The multi-story building is projected to cost a total of $45 million and will be 114,000 square feet at the corner of Bruce and Donaghey streets in the heart of campus. That space is currently occupied by the university’s speech pathology department, said Amanda Hoelzeman, UCA’s director of media relations. The low-slung, tan brick building, a former church, would be torn down with parking behind the new Windgate Center.
The new Windgate Center would have 44,000 square feet of art space along with a 45-seat concert hall, a 300-seat theater, along with classroom space, studios and areas for rehearsal and design.
Davis said around 1,000 of UCA’s 11,177 students major or minor in Art, or Fine Arts and Communications.
“Student enrollment for all departments has remained at capacity for the past decade,” Davis said. “This gift will allow us to fulfill the facilities and scholarship needs that are worthy of our outstanding faculty and students. We will be able to help more students earn degrees in art and related disciplines, while also graduating a workforce of creative problem solvers, critical thinkers, and independent learners.”
The Windgate Foundation has also given notable gifts in the arts to other universities around Arkansas such as Arkansas State in Jonesboro, Arkansas-Fort Smith and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and $40 million to the University of Arkansas in 2017.
Inside Philanthropy, a magazine and website devoted to philanthropy said about Windgate: “This foundation prioritizes craft arts, which is a very rare niche funding area.”
Horn said the Windgate Foundation is unique because “everybody on the board is an artist” and because ”the grants that we’ve given, we’ve gotten to know the people. And with UCA, we’ve built a relationship and that’s really important to us. They have good leadership. They have a good, supporting board.”
Patricia Forgy, executive director of Windgate Foundation, added, “for almost 20 years, we have proudly partnered with UCA and are delighted to continue our support for their new Fine and Performing Arts Center.”
Davis said he expects the Windgate Foundation gift to cause “ripples” with others making donations as UCA embarks on a new capital campaign and “this new project is much more than a building,” he added. “It is a necessary and pivotal step in our ongoing efforts to transform lives and make an impact in Arkansas and beyond.”
Construction is expected to begin in 2021 and with the Windgate Center open for use by Fall 2022.
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