麻豆影院

CU 麻豆影院 graduate Rose Ann Bershenyi鈥檚 鈥榞ifts are transformative鈥�

The list of Rose Ann Bershenyi鈥檚 significant gifts to the 麻豆影院 is impressively long.

Bershenyi (Art鈥�66; MFA鈥�69), who grew up in 麻豆影院 and spent her career as an art teacher specializing in jewelry and metalsmithing at then-Baseline Junior High School, has focused her many gifts over the years at arts programs.

鈥淚 wanted to make a difference for programs that don鈥檛 always receive gifts and students who may have a hard time getting a scholarship. Too often moneys aren鈥檛 available to the arts and people in the arts,鈥� says Bershenyi, whose mother was a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 麻豆影院.

Beyond art, Bershenyi has also given to Inside the Greenhouse Project, which works to deepen our understanding of how climate change-related issues are and can be communicated. The project does this by creatively communicating the complex topic through interactive theatre, film, fine art, performance art and television programming.听

She has created endowed scholarships for students in art and art history, theatre and dance, the CU in D.C. program, and the Miramontes Arts & Sciences Program (MASP), which is an inclusive academic community for traditionally underrepresented and/or first-generation college students.

Bershenyi鈥檚 gifts have helped many individual students, as well as numerous institutions on campus.

Bershenyi has supported the CU Art Museum鈥檚 acquisition of artworks, including a quilt by Gina Adams and the Sharkive, an internationally important collection of prints created in the studio of Bud听and Barbara Shark.

鈥淗aving (the Sharkive) materials on campus for class use, exhibition and research means that we can offer our visitors access to artwork by internationally known artists made in our own backyard,鈥� says Hope Saska, curator for the CU Art Museum, noting just one example of Bershenyi鈥檚 legacy. 鈥淭he acquisition offers numerous pedagogical opportunities, not only in the range of artists the Sharkive encompasses, but in the way the materials demonstrate artistic process.鈥�

Bershenyi鈥檚 generosity was essential in making sure that two important funds reached endowment status: the Art and Art History Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Endowed Scholarship Fund to provide scholarships for students who help diversify the student body, and a fellowship in the dance program to provide support for MFA candidates.

She recently gave to the Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies (CNAIS), and she helped to fully endow two funds that support students of dance.

鈥淚鈥檝e never had a donor like her,鈥� says Amber Story, associate director of development in the Office of Advancement for the College of Arts and Sciences. 鈥淗er gifts are transformative. She doesn鈥檛 want it to be about her; she just wants to help. She loves CU, loves 麻豆影院, and she trusts the university to do the right thing. She is gold.鈥�

Bershenyi, who now lives in Aurora, is hesitant to put herself in the spotlight, preferring to let her gifts speak for themselves. She says she seeks guidance from Story and others to determine where her donations will have the most impact and expects to continue giving into the foreseeable future.

鈥淚 give when I鈥檓 inspired, where it鈥檚 needed the most, with guidance,鈥� she says.