The
Bailey Family Foundation today announced a gift of $2 million for the
construction of new art facilities on the campus of The University of Tampa.
The new complex will house drawing, painting and ceramics studios, an art
library, photography laboratory and darkroom, an art gallery, an outdoor art
workplace and sculpture display area, and several classrooms in a
30,000-square-foot building located next to the University’s Bob Martinez Sports
Center on North Boulevard.
It will be named the R.K. Bailey Art Studios after Ron K. Bailey, and his
sons, R. Kyle Bailey, and R. Kent Bailey. Plans call for an extensive façade
and landscaping that will enhance the architecture of the west side of the
90-acre campus. A new south entrance to the complex will be added to enhance a
planned crosswalk and related projects. Construction is expected to take
approximately two years.
“The Bailey Family Foundation is a strong supporter of post-secondary
education, awarding more than 200 scholarships each year in Hillsborough,
Pinellas and Polk counties, and several counties in Virginia,” said founder Ron
Bailey. “Tampa is known for its appreciation of the arts, and this UT facility
will only strengthen that reputation.”
The number of art majors at the University has more than tripled since 1995,
and art programs have seen a 30% growth in credit hours within the past year,
stretching existing art facilities to the limit.
Currently, the University’s art studios are located in the 70-year-old
Florida Fairgrounds buildings in the center of campus. The various studios,
including the Scarfone and Hartley galleries, will be moved to the new complex
as construction, renovation and design elements are completed.
The Bailey Foundation gift moves the UT Capital Campaign, announced in 1999,
to more than $71.5 million of an $80-million goal.
Through the Foundation, and privately, the Baileys have been good friends to
the University. For the past five years, the Foundation has awarded at least
one scholarship annually to a deserving UT student. Kyle Bailey ’95 and his
wife, Michele ’95, also have endowed a personal scholarship fund and are active
in the Tampa Alpha Alumni Club. In addition, Kyle has helped to establish an
endowment fund for the UT chapter of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. He also
volunteers in the new E-Mentor program at UT.
Ron K. Bailey serves on the UT Board of Trustees and funded the UT Student
Investment Club, managed by the finance students in the John H. Sykes College of
Business.
For more information, contact the Office of Public
Information at publicinfo@ut.edu.