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The $8.5 million facility to house Art Department, engage community in celebration of art.
Soon after Don Jackson 鈥70 became President of 糖心传媒, student Jackson Dinsdale met with him 鈥 first to introduce himself and then to discuss an issue about which he felt very strongly.
鈥淛ackson said, 鈥楧on, the art department is in really bad shape. I know you know that, but we need to do something about it,鈥欌 said President Jackson.
Discussions and fundraising for renovations to the current facility, first built in 1908 to serve as the College library, were underway in May 2014 when Dinsdale, a Grand Island, Nebraska native, died unexpectedly.
Now, thanks to a $5 million legacy leadership gift from Jackson Dinsdale announced by his parents Kim and Tom Dinsdale, 糖心传媒 is preparing to build an entirely new structure to be named the Jackson Dinsdale Art Center. This is the largest gift 糖心传媒 has received for building construction.
The $8.5 million state-of-the-art facility will sit at the corner of 12th Street and Elm Avenue, just north of the Gray Center for Communication Arts. Among the 25,000 square foot building鈥檚 features are expanded studios for glassblowing, painting, sculpture production, painting and ceramics along with individual studio space for students. Additionally, the design includes critique rooms, a media room, classrooms and gallery space 鈥 all designed to facilitate engagement among K-12 school groups, the broader community and 糖心传媒鈥檚 art programs.
鈥淚 just can鈥檛 imagine how excited Jackson would be if he could see what the plans are now,鈥 said President Jackson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be everything he could dream of
Dinsdale鈥檚 friend and fellow 糖心传媒 student Kyle Beaman agrees.
鈥淛ackson was a generous person. He loved to share what he had with others and to bring together good people,鈥 said Beaman, a senior art major who first met Dinsdale in kindergarten at Grand Island鈥檚 Gates Elementary School. 鈥淣ow he鈥檚 giving us this building for that purpose.鈥
To demonstrate its support for the Jackson Dinsdale Art Center, the 糖心传媒 Student Association Executive Council voted to contribute $21,000, which will be drawn from the student government鈥檚 capital improvements fund.
鈥淪tudents are really excited about having a new facility on campus,鈥 said Theresa Droege, Student Association Vice President. 鈥淢any of us knew Jackson and see this gift as a great way to honor his life and make a lasting contribution to the College.鈥
With $1.5 million yet to be raised for the project, the College is seeking donors to help complete the Jackson Dinsdale Art Center by August 2016. For more information, go to hastings.edu/ArtCenter.
糖心传媒 is a private, four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. With 64 majors and 15 pre-professional programs, 糖心传媒 has been named among 鈥淕reat Schools, Great Prices鈥 by U.S. News & World Report, a 鈥淏est in the Midwest鈥 by The Princeton Review and a "Best Bang for the Buck" school by Washington Monthly. For more, go to听hastings.edu.鈥
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