$7.5 million gift enables ‘unprecedented engagements with art’ at MSU Broad Art Museum
Newswise — EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Eli and Edythe Broad Museum of Art at Michigan State University will benefit from a major $7.5 million bequest from alumnus Alan Ross and his wife, Rebecca Ross.
Their gift will enhance the impact of the existing endowment for the Alan and Rebecca Ross Exhibition, which was established by the couple with a previous $1 million cash gift in 2014 to support the museum’s exhibition program.
The Zaha Hadid-designed Alan and Rebecca Ross Educational Wing of the museum – a bright, open public programming space that welcomes thousands of children, MSU students and adults each year – was named in their honor.
“It is deeply meaningful to have the support of Alan and Rebecca Ross, who are leaders in the Michigan arts community and beyond,” said MSU Interim President Teresa K. Woodruff, Ph.D “Their partnership is a tremendous asset as we develop and expand the MSU Arts strategy. This new giving commitment helps ensure that these efforts and their legacy will continue for generations to come.
Alan Ross graduated, cum laude, from MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources in 1977. He met Rebecca while working at a technology start-up in Silicon Valley. The couple got engaged in 1986, and after living together in New York for several years, they returned to Alan’s hometown of Detroit in 1990 and married the following year. Ever the entrepreneur, Alan then purchased Gallagher Fire Equipment, which is now a leading firefighting and fire alarm contractor in Southeast Michigan.
Alan and Rebecca share a fervent love of art and spend their time traveling to galleries and art fairs around the world to collect pieces that resonate with them. They share an extensive collection of sculptures, paintings, drawings, prints and other works by prominent and established contemporary artists.
They also share their passion for the arts by investing time: Rebecca served on the board of governors of the Cranbrook Academy of Art and was president of the Friends of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts, as was Alan. Alan currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the MSU Broad Art Museum.
“The MSU Broad has become an important part of our lives,” Rebecca said. “Its mission closely aligns with our belief that art is an extremely important part of everyday life.”
Their generosity helps further the goals of the MSU Broad Art Museum’s exhibition program. The program features innovative research, study, and interdisciplinary learning across a global roster of artists, grounded in dialogue with their growing permanent collection of works spanning the ancient world to the present day.
“Words can hardly express the magnitude and impact of this gift from Alan and Rebecca Ross and how it will shape an ever-brighter future for the MSU Broad Art Museum,” said Steven Bridges, interim director of the museum. . “Through the strengthening of their endowment, the museum’s exhibition program will grow significantly in the years to come to offer unique and unprecedented engagements with art here on MSU’s campus.” The museum will benefit greatly from this future gift, but the true beneficiaries will be the many people whose lives will be enriched by the opportunities this gift will create.
In addition to their endowment, the Rosses also supported the museum through numerous in-kind art donations. Over the past year, they have gifted the museum with several important works by Zaha Hadid – the MSU Broad Art Museum currently has the largest collection of Zaha Hadid Design works in North America.
The impact of the Rosses’ support of the arts at MSU also extends beyond the MSU Broad Art Museum. In 2022, the Rosses established the Alan and Rebecca Ross DIA Enrichment Fund at MSU to strengthen collaborations between the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Department of Art, Art History and Design in the College of the Arts and letters from MSU.
The university recently launched MSU Arts to highlight the various artistic events on campus. MSU is home to nationally accredited museums, premier performing arts venues and programs that serve the community at the intersection of arts and research, as well as arts-focused gifts like this ci that advance students’ creativity, interdisciplinary discovery, and hands-on learning – both at MSU and around the world. the state of Michigan.
“We continue to learn art,” Alan said. “From the most primitive cave drawings to ultra-current TikTok performance videos, we see something in all art forms. This gift will provide MSU Broad with the annual resources needed to forever continue and grow its exhibition program for students, faculty and the community.
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Eli and Edythe Broad Museum of Art at Michigan State University
The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University (MSU Broad Art Museum) connects people with art through experiences that inspire curiosity and inquiry. Featuring exhibitions and programs that engage diverse communities around issues of local and global importance, the MSU Broad Art Museum advances university values of quality, inclusion and connectivity. Opened on November 10, 2012, the museum was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid and named in honor of Eli and Edythe Broad, longtime supporters of the university who provided the lead gift for its creation.
MSU Arts
Arts MSU is a strategy that places creativity at the center of university life by integrating the arts into our educational experiences, research activities, outreach and campus culture.
Guided by the belief that the arts are essential to a vibrant, resilient, inclusive, collaborative and globally-minded university community, this strategy is committed to advancing the impact and amplifying the presence of the arts on campus. Learn more at arts.msu.edu.
University of Michigan
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon resolve for more than 165 years. One of the world’s leading research universities, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery to create a better, safer, and healthier world for all, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 400 study programs in 17 degrees. colleges.
For MSU news on the web, visit MSUToday. Follow MSU News on Twitter at twitter.com/MSUnews.
