In what will be the largest gift ever to UNLV or the University system, the Lied Foundation Trust has agreed to provide $10 million toward construction of a new library on the UNLV campus.
The Board of Regents accepted the gift at its regular meeting Thursday (June 23).
The gift will come to the University through the UNLV Foundation, as part of an agreement between the Foundation and Christina Hixson, trustee of the Lied Foundation Trust.
The donated funds will be used as a catalyst for securing the balance of funds needed for constructing and equipping a library estimated to cost a total of $40 million.
"The university greatly appreciates Christina Hixson's willingness to help fund a new campus library," said Interim President Kenny Guinn. "It will help us meet our greatest need -- building a new library.
"For this university to fulfill its academic function and keep up with the explosion of knowledge and the growth of its student body and faculty, it must have a library that is on the leading edge of information technology," Guinn said. "I believe that the Lied Foundation Trust donation will enable us to put together a funding package that will make such a library possible."
According to the agreement, the funds will become available to the university if the Nevada Legislature appropriates $3 million for architecture and design costs during the 1995 legislative session and the balance (approximately $27 million) during the 1997 session.
"I am very proud to be a part of helping the University fulfill its number-one priority. This library will serve not only UNLV's students and faculty, but also the community," Christina Hixson said, adding that it will be dedicated to the memory of Ernst F. Lied and his parents, Ernst M. and Ida K. Lied.
It is expected that the new library would be built and open by the year 2000.
The late Ernst F. Lied was a long-time Las Vegas resident who was successful in the real estate business. The Lied Foundation Trust was created for the purpose of supporting charitable organizations.
Christina Hixson and the Lied Foundation Trust have been strong financial supporters of UNLV and UNR. This donation brings the Lied Foundation Trust's total giving to UNLV to more than $16 million, including gifts supporting a new athletic complex, the Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies, the Ernst F. Lied Golf Scholarship Program, and construction of new scientific laboratories. The Lied Foundation Trust has given $2.5 million to UNR.
As trustee, Christina Hixson has helped charitable organizations in Southern Nevada and across the nation. Through the Lied Foundation Trust, she has been a major contributor to such worthwhile projects as the Boys and Girls Clubs of Las Vegas, New Horizons Academy, the Economic Opportunity Board, the Lied Discovery Children's Museum, the Lied Opportunity Village Association for Retarded Citizens, the Salvation Army, and First Presbyterian Church.
"This is a perfect example of what the Foundation was created to do -- raise funds to help meet academic priorities," UNLV Foundation Chair Tom Hartley said.
