Lincoln, Neb.—The Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, the first and only named college at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, will be dedicated on Sunday, April 7, 2002.

“One of the many things that reflect the quality of an institution is the way in which those external to the institution support it,” said Dean Giacomo M. Oliva. “The Hixson-Lied endowment speaks in a major way to the quality of the college’s programs and the importance of the college to the university and to the citizens of Nebraska.”

The college is named in honor of Miss Christina Hixson, the sole trustee of the Lied Foundation Trust, who in January 2000 announced a gift of $18 million to the University of Nebraska Foundation to support UNL’s College of Fine and Performing Arts. Hixson and the Lied Foundation Trust have given more than $34 million to support the college and its affiliated units. Miss Hixson is scheduled to attend the dedication weekend activities.

“There is no doubt that the University of Nebraska—and indeed the state—are better places to live and learn as a result of the years of support from Christina Hixson and the Lied Foundation Trust,” said Terry Fairfield, president and CEO of the University of Nebraska Foundation. “It is very appropriate that the university publicly demonstrate its appreciation by dedicating the college in their honor.”

The festivities on Sunday, April 7 will begin at 5pm with the unveiling of a monument commemorating the dedication in the Lied Center Plaza at 12th and R sts. The nine-foot monument will be an impressive addition to the campus’s Arts Quadrangle. Located adjacent to the buildings that house the college units and affiliated programs will be granite benches in the same proportion as this commemorative marker.

The formal dedication ceremony will begin at 7:30pm in Kimball Recital Hall, 11th and R sts. Both events are free and open to the public.

Sunday evening’s ceremony will include the presentation of the Fine and Performing Arts Alumni Board’s Award of Merit to Miss Hixson, as well as music and theatre student performances.

The Alumni Board’s Alumni Achievement Awards will also be presented that evening to Carol Haerer in Art (1954 BFA), Robert Nelson in Music (1963 BME and 1964 MM) and Daniel Proett in Theatre Arts (1977 MFA). A special video about the college will also premiere during the ceremony.

Other activities will fill this special dedication weekend. The School of Music’s opera, “The Bohemian Girl” will run April 5-7. The MFA Thesis Exhibition and Reception for Jerry Sumpter and Judy Stone Nunneley will be Saturday, April 6, from 3-5pm in the Eisentrager•Howard Gallery. A special screening of work by the Department of Theatre Arts’ film and new media program students will also be held Saturday afternoon in Howell Theatre. Peter, Paul and Mary will be in concert at the Lied Center for Performing Arts Saturday evening at 7:30pm. The Alumni Achievement Award winners will be in classes on Monday, April 8. A special graduate work showcase will be held Monday, April 8, from 4-6pm in the Johnny Carson Theater.

For more information, please call the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts at (402) 472-9339.