Gift from Judith and David Albertson will create Endowed Chair in Visual Arts
By Chad Binette (cbinette@mail.ucf.edu)

ORLANDO, Feb. 10, 2006 -- A celebration Tuesday evening at the University of Central Florida Art Gallery recognized Judith and David Albertson for their $600,000 donation that will fund an endowed chair in visual arts.

The position will be filled by an artist or art historian through an international search, said Mark Price, chairman of the Art Department. The donation will be used to "attract a prestigious artist in any art media and is an extraordinary opportunity to enhance the creative experience for the students and the community."

The Albertsons' gift is eligible for $420,000 in state matching funds, bringing the total donation to $1.02 million.

UCF Trustee Judith Albertson is a well-known art dealer who previously owned an art gallery in Winter Park. She has supported Flying Horse Editions, UCF's fine arts press, since its establishment about 15 years ago and also has served on an advisory committee for UCF's Judaic Studies Program.

David Albertson, a successful entrepreneur and businessman, received an honorary doctoral degree from UCF in 1989.

"I was here in 1990 at the opening of the Visual Arts Building, and now I am looking forward to expanding the program by helping to recruit world-class faculty who are well-known artists to teach the students here," Judith Albertson said.

UCF President John Hitt thanked the Albertsons on Tuesday for being "special friends of the university and remarkable members of the community. Together they listened to the needs of the Art Department and decided to establish the Judith and David Albertson Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Visual Arts."

The endowed chair is the second for the Art Department and the seventh in the College of Arts and Humanities.

The event Tuesday also celebrated the division of the College of Arts and Sciences to form two separate colleges, one for Arts and Humanities and the other for the Sciences.

DATE POSTED
February 14, 2006

CONTACT
Mark Price
Art Department chairman
407-823-6321
maprice@mail.ucf.edu

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