Major gifts to Arboretum support capital projects

A vastly improved experience for visitors is in store at the UW Arboretum, where two major gifts totaling more than $1 million will enable construction of a new auditorium and other enhancements to facilities and programs.

• An $850,000 gift from Sally Mead Hands of Wilmette, Ill., will support construction of a new 250-seat auditorium and help fund other projects related to the Arboretum’s $2.8-million capital campaign.
• The Oscar Rennebohm Foundation, a longtime supporter of Arboretum programs, has contributed $350,000 toward the auditorium. The two gifts are among the largest ever received by the Arboretum.

The auditorium, which will feature high-quality audio-visual capabilities and flexible seating, is designed to be a focal point of an expanded visitor center at the Arboretum. Other noteworthy features include a terraced entrance with a dramatic view of Curtis Prairie, exhibit space, a browsing library and a gift shop. Groundbreaking is scheduled for spring 2000.

“The auditorium will enable us to greatly improve and expand our programs for university, public and professional audiences, and to serve many more people than we can now with our existing classroom space,” said Arboretum Director Greg Armstrong.

“With these exceptional gifts, we are now very close to realizing our campaign goal.”

Larger version Artist’s rendering of the Arboretum McKay Center addition. (Courtesy of Taliesin Architects)

Hands, a UW–Madison alumna, said her longstanding interest in conservation issues led her to make the gift to the Arboretum. Her family’s business, Consolidated Papers Inc., supports a variety of conservation programs.

The Rennebohm Foundation has long supported the Arboretum, funding the first ranger program in the 1970s and providing seed money for public education programs that now reach tens of thousands of people each year.

With these two gifts secured, the Arboretum will continue to work with the University of Wisconsin Foundation to begin a public fund-raising campaign, which will encourage the community to help these improvements become a reality.

The new wing of the visitor center is one of three major goals of the Arboretum’s capital campaign. Another is an extensive collection of plants native to Wisconsin, all displayed in a universally accessible setting, surrounding the visitor center.

The third element of the campaign is a comprehensive interpretive program designed to guide visitors to greater enjoyment of the Arboretum and a deeper understanding of both the value of our natural heritage and the importance of ecological restoration.

Taliesin Architects is designing the building addition. Darrel Morrison, a nationally known leader in the design of native landscapes, is designing the native plant gardens surrounding the visitor center.