For immediate release
The Arts Center Campaign Receives Donation from Jim and Amy Tipton
BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 5, 2008 – Fine arts philanthropists Jim and Amy Tipton of Brownsville have given a significant gift for The Arts Center under construction at The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College. 
The Texas Southmost College Board of Trustees accepted the gift that will name a jazz teaching studio “The Tipton Family Teaching Studio.”
“It gives me great pleasure to make this donation to UTB/TSC on behalf of Amy and myself and the entire Tipton family,” Jim Tipton said.
Tipton said the gift “would please the many family friends from the past who have made contributions before me.”
He spoke of the gift “as a small token of my appreciation and admiration for President Dr. Juliet V. García. No one has demonstrated more dedication to our children in Brownsville, and few have accomplished the lofty goals she has reached with her tireless ambition and drive to make this a world-class facility for students from north and south of the Rio Grande.”
Tipton also honored his many family members who have been educators. Among them are his wife, Amy, who taught more than 27 years in Brownsville and daughter, Katie, currently working on her master’s degree in education at Sweetbriar College in Virginia. His great-grandfather, Samuel Tipton, was a school teacher and principal in the late 1800s.
Construction is under way on the $25 million Arts Center behind Jacob Brown Auditorium. Funded largely as part of a $68 million bond package, a capitol campaign has begun to raise the additional funds.
The 49,887 square-foot structure will feature an 808-seat performance hall with a fully equipped stage designed to accommodate orchestras, operas and dance and theater productions accommodating 150 people on stage simultaneously.
Additionally, the conical-shape structure includes five teaching studios, three rehearsal halls, a green room, a patrons’ terrace and a 5,298 square-foot lobby designed for receptions and art exhibits.
To learn more about giving opportunities call the UTB/TSC Division of Institutional Advancement at (956) 882-4322.