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 said it would be nice to have a center that would honor his grandfather.
Jackie Gaughan was unable to attend the announcement because of health issues.
"Although we are Nevadans, we will never forget our roots reach back deep into Nebraska's soil," John Gaughan said in a university release. "It is with these feelings and our deep love for our grandfather that our family is proud to be involved in this wonderful project."
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Juan Franco said he was thankful for student's interest in the project, which would send a positive message to future students.
"We have an obligation for students to work in an increasingly diverse world," Franco said. "Building the new multicultural center sends a strong message to future multicultural students that they are welcome here and that we want them here."
In a video recording from his home in Las Vegas, Jackie Gaughan said as a native Nebraskan and believer in higher education he hoped the center would bring students from different backgrounds together.
"It is my hope that the new Jackie D. Gaughan Multicultural Center will provide students a place where they can come together and learn to be respectful of the many unique individuals they will encounter in their lives," Jackie Gaughan said in the video.
David Solheim, president of the Association of the Students of the University of Nebraska, said one of his proudest days was when students approved increasing fees to fund half the center's construction costs.
Solheim, a senior economics major, said the university would never be the same after the center's opening.
"This will set a trend for years to come how the university approaches diversity," Solheim said.
