Multicultural center recieves more funding
Puts long-delayed center closer to being built
Kevin Zelaya
Issue date: 4/16/07 Section: News
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After more than a year of work, the University of Nebraska Foundation has received enough donations to fund the construction costs of a new multicultural center.
John Gaughan, a 1998 University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate, presented a capstone gift on behalf of the Gaughan family of Las Vegas in honor of his grandfather, Jackie Gaughan, who was one of the first in the Las Vegas casino industry to hire staff members from multicultural backgrounds.
The announcement was made on Friday in the Ross Media Arts Center in front of a packed audience of administrators, students, and staff and faculty members.
The new multicultural center will be named the Jackie D. Gaughan Multicultural Center in honor of the family's gift, though the exact amount of the donation was undisclosed.
As of March 20, the NU Foundation had reported receiving $1.8 million of the $4.35 million in donations needed for the project.
The building, which will be constructed on the east side of the Nebraska Union, is tentatively scheduled to open February of 2010. It would replace the Culture Center at 333 N. 14th St., which many say is inadequate for the needs of the university.
Through a referendum last spring, UNL students approved funding half of the center's $8.7 million construction costs through a $12-per-semester increase in student fees. The increase is set to take effect in 2009 and last until 2029. Donations received by the foundation will cover the other half of the construction costs.
The three-story center will provide about 30,000-square-feet of space for student lounges, computer labs, meeting rooms and office space.
UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman said the gift completed the fundraising stage and would allow the university to move forward in opening the new center.
In his State of the University Address last September, Perlman identified a new multicultural center as one of the university's priorities.
"Promoting understanding of other cultures is of the utmost importance," Perlman said.
John Gaughan, a 1998 University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate, presented a capstone gift on behalf of the Gaughan family of Las Vegas in honor of his grandfather, Jackie Gaughan, who was one of the first in the Las Vegas casino industry to hire staff members from multicultural backgrounds.
The announcement was made on Friday in the Ross Media Arts Center in front of a packed audience of administrators, students, and staff and faculty members.
The new multicultural center will be named the Jackie D. Gaughan Multicultural Center in honor of the family's gift, though the exact amount of the donation was undisclosed.
As of March 20, the NU Foundation had reported receiving $1.8 million of the $4.35 million in donations needed for the project.
The building, which will be constructed on the east side of the Nebraska Union, is tentatively scheduled to open February of 2010. It would replace the Culture Center at 333 N. 14th St., which many say is inadequate for the needs of the university.
Through a referendum last spring, UNL students approved funding half of the center's $8.7 million construction costs through a $12-per-semester increase in student fees. The increase is set to take effect in 2009 and last until 2029. Donations received by the foundation will cover the other half of the construction costs.
The three-story center will provide about 30,000-square-feet of space for student lounges, computer labs, meeting rooms and office space.
UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman said the gift completed the fundraising stage and would allow the university to move forward in opening the new center.
In his State of the University Address last September, Perlman identified a new multicultural center as one of the university's priorities.
"Promoting understanding of other cultures is of the utmost importance," Perlman said.
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