4/20/01

Janet L. McCoy

CHI OMEGA SORORITY MARKS ANNIVERSARY WITH GIFT TO AU MUSEUM

AUBURN -- The Alpha Beta Chapter of Chi Omega Sorority has donated $25,000 to The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art at Auburn University in recognition of the sorority's 75th anniversary.

The sorority have long been supporters of the museum project.

The Chi Omega funds were dedicated to the naming of The Chi Omega-Hargis Seminar Temporary Exhibition Gallery which will be committed to innovative and often experimental exhibitions, said Michael De Marsche, director of the museum.

"I love the idea of the museum creating a legacy inside its spaces for organizations and we are appreciative to the Chi Omega sorority for their gift," De Marsche said. "Their gift is a nice acknowledgment of past Chi Omegas and honors current sorority members and those to come."

Emily Leischuck of Auburn, who is the house corporation's treasurer, said the sorority wanted to recognize its anniversary as well as AU's support of the university.

"We just wanted to thank Auburn in some way for the relationship the Chi Omega sorority has had with the university," she said. "We appreciate all they have done for us."

Construction of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art -- home to AU's permanent collection of American and European art -- is about to begin. The museum plans to open its doors to the public in spring 2003.

The nearly 40,000-square-foot building will offer all the amenities of a modern art museum to thousands of visitors every year: eight exhibition galleries, a gift shop, a restaurant, an auditorium and a series of formal gardens that incorporate walking paths, water features and the exhibition of large-scale sculpture.

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CONTACT: De Marsche at 844-1484.