Posted on December 3, 2009

University of Maryland Receives $1 Million From Cafritz Foundation

The University of Maryland has announced a $1 million grant from the Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation to support the technology and equipment infrastructure of the university's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

Awarded as part of the university's $1 billion capital campaign, the grant will enable the center to replace and enhance the equipment necessary to present nearly a thousand annual performances by guest artists and UM's music, theater, and dance departments as well as workshops, artist residencies, panel discussions, and master classes. Each year, the center is visited by some 100,000 residents of the Greater Washington area.

In acknowledgement of the grant, the center will rename its laboratory theater space the Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Theatre.

"We seek work that is transformational, that creates multiple avenues for learning, promotes diverse perspectives, reveals meaning, and allows people to participate and celebrate — work that matters enough to change the way people live in the world," said Susie Farr, executive director of the center. "With the help of partners like the Cafritz Foundation, we will continue to rise to the challenge of providing our community with new opportunities for learning, exploration, and growth."