GBPAC receives generous birthday gift

In celebration of its 10th birthday, Edward and Catherine Gallagher gave a $500,000 gift to the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. The gift was announced at the Itzhak Perlman violin concert that took place at the GBPAC Nov. 8. 

The donation will help establish the Edward and Catherine Cassidy Gallagher Endowment as part of the “Imagine the Impact” campaign, which has a goal of raising $150 million to support scholarships, faculty and special programming.

The GBPAC hosts more than 300 performances every year, including some of the “world’s finest artists, ensembles of the UNI School of Music, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony and many other regional events,” according to their Web site.

“Many divide the time periods in (the) Cedar Valley into before the GBPAC and after the GBPAC--that is how much this facility and its programming has transformed the community,” said UNI President Benjamin Allen.

Edward Gallagher serves as a senior partner at Gallagher Langlas and Gallagher Law Firm, and Catherine Gallagher is a UNI aluma. The Gallaghers  made their first donation in the amount of $1 million to help build the center 10 years ago.

“They are exceptional people who understood the importance of and made it possible for this special facility to become a reality,” said President Allen.

President Allen explained that the gift will allow UNI “to achieve the high level of excellence that students and parents have come to expect from the university.”

“This gift will guarantee that the programming and other needs of the GBPAC will be maintained at a very high level for many years to come,” he added.

“It was great that a leader in our community who has already given so much to the GBPAC and the university would contribute in this way,” said Steve Carignan, executive director the GBPAC.

“Ed and Cathy want the university to be a powerful cultural resource. In view of budget cuts taken by the center over the last 18 months, that support is important more than ever,” he added.

Megan Horn, a student representative on the GBPAC Advisory Board, is happy that the Gallaghers continue to support UNI and the arts.

“It’s so unique to have a facility like the Gallagher-Bluedorn that provides such a wide variety of events in a community the size of Cedar Falls. I’m thankful that we have people in the community willing to support it because it provides such unique opportunities,” she said.

For more information on the “Imagine the Impact Campaign” visit www.uni-foundation.org.