Mary and Fritz Wolfe voice their
support for BGSU and the arts at the announcement
of their $1.5 million donation to fund the Wolfe
Center for the Arts on campus.
Wolfes donate
$1.5 million to build campus arts center
Two well-known northwest Ohio patrons of the arts will
provide the lead private gift for the University’s
new arts center.
On Feb. 24, Perrysburg residents Frederic D. and Mary
T. Wolfe and the Wolfe Family Charitable Foundation announced
a $1.5 million gift to support what will be known as the
Wolfe Center for the Arts. Their gift will help provide
for an emerging architect to create a landmark facility
on campus for students, faculty and the community.
The board of trustees approved the naming of the building
earlier this month.
“We’re very happy that we are able to do this
for Bowling Green State University and for the arts community,”
said Mary Wolfe. “We believe in the arts and see
this facility as a hub for the arts at BGSU.”
“We have been very impressed with how well Bowling
Green State University has been doing in the past 10 years.
We especially like the leadership of President Ribeau
and are honored to make this gift to the University,”
said Frederic "Fritz" Wolfe.
“This is an example of how engaged friends of the
University can help to create a facility where students
and faculty in the arts can connect with one another and
with the community. We are excited to have Fritz and Mary’s
leadership in helping us realize our dream of having this
kind of space for our arts community,” Ribeau said.
The new facility will contain classrooms as well as production
and studio spaces to link students and faculty in the
School of Art, the Department of Theatre and Film and
the College of Musical Arts.
The arts center capital project was initiated when the
state of Ohio awarded BGSU an $8.7 million capital grant
to build a state-of-the-art performing arts complex. The
University is raising the additional funds through private
sources to complete the facility, which will cost an estimated
$11.7 million.
