News

Dear Friends,

It was great to see so many of you at our regional spring meetings in San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and Houston. Special thanks again to our hosts: Emma and Toby Calvert, Joan Hudson Clark, Laura and Chris Shoppa, Joe Batson, and Traci and John Young.

Also, don’t forget to mark your calendar for the fall meeting on Friday, September 20 at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center. Last year’s meeting was one of our best ever, and we are hoping to top it in 2019. We look forward to sharing the full agenda with you in August.

As we close out the spring semester, there is much to celebrate in the College of Fine Arts. We could not be more grateful to Meredith and Cornelia Long of Houston for donating $1 million to their Meredith and Cornelia Long Internship Fund. Since establishing the fund in 2015, the Longs have helped an increasing number of students by offsetting the costs associated with unpaid internships. This additional gift will expand its reach even further to help students find college-to-career success.

Continue Reading Summer 2019 Update from Sondra Lomax

Dear Friends,

What a great gathering on campus in October for our fall council meeting!  My appreciation to all who attended. Since that meeting, the development officers have been traveling around the state to meet with members individually to ask how you might wish to become involved with our college’s campaign initiatives. Please welcome them when they reach out. Lots of exciting projects happening college-wide!

As Doug Dempster stated at the meeting, “The time is NOW to address our facilities’ needs.” As you learned, COFA student enrollment has increased by 20 percent over the past two years, and we are expecting a 40 percent increase by 2021. Much of this growth is in disciplines that did not exist 50 years ago when our 20th century facilities were built.

Continue Reading Fall 2018 Update from Sondra Lomax

Dear Friends,

What a busy spring! The past few months have flown by with non-stop activity on campus, our ongoing regional Advisory Council meetings, and the hire of new development team members. Doug and I always enjoy traveling around the state to visit with you, and I want to extend my appreciation again to everyone who hosted or attended the regional meetings.

And now for some exciting news:  I am happy to report that this year will be the most successful fundraising year for the College of Fine Arts since Ernest and Sarah Butler made their landmark $55 million gift to name the School of Music in 2008.

Continue Reading Spring 2018 Update from Sondra Lomax

Dear Friends,

One of our biggest changes this past year is an internal one: the reorganization of the college’s development operations. We now share resources and staffing with the University Development Office and have hired several new team members.

First, many of you already know Andrew West from his previous position as Director of Development for the Butler School of Music. He will now be the college’s new Director of Principal Gifts. In this well-deserved promotion, Andrew will be focusing on the highest level of gifts across the college while working closely with Doug and me, plus the Chairs and Directors, on COFA’s top fundraising priorities. Andrew has more than 10 years of fundraising experience, along with an impressive track record for his recent successes with the Butler School and the Longhorn Band.

We also have two new gift officers who have recently joined our team, Marcela DeFaria and Alex Scull. Please read more about them below. Our appreciation to Vice President for Development Scott Rabenold for his support in this expansion, which will allow us to greatly increase our fundraising for the benefit of the college and the university.

Continue Reading Winter 2017 Update from Sondra Lomax