BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS – FEBRUARY 24, 2009 – One of the largest offshore and marine shipyards in the Gulf of Mexico, Keppel AmFELS Inc. has 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 from G. S. Tan, president and chief executive officer of Keppel AmFELS, at the TSC Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 19.

Their gift will name Box F on the first floor of The Arts Center “The Keppel AmFELS Inc. Box.”

“I come from Singapore, and education is a big priority of the government,” Tan said. “I personally am a beneficiary of education. Our gift is for the community. At Keppel AmFELS, we want to continue to grow as much as we can and stay competitive and do what we can to continue to support this community.”

Board Chair David Oliveira presented Tan with a print of a watercolor rendering of The Arts Center.

Tan also presented a check to the UTB/TSC Chess Team to support the team’s upcoming trip to Dallas. In April, the team will compete at the Final Four of College Chess national championships

Construction of the $25 million Arts Center is funded largely as part of a $68 million bond package approved by voters in 2004. The bond provides for $18 million while $6.7 million must be raised to complete the building.

The 49,887-square-foot structure, designed by Studio Red, will feature an 808-seat performance hall with a fully equipped stage designed to accommodate orchestras, operas and dance and theater productions with up to 150 people on stage simultaneously. The building is expected to be completed in winter 2009.

The nautilus-shape structure will have five teaching studios, three rehearsal halls, a green room, a patrons’ terrace and a 5,298-square-foot lobby designed to accommodate receptions and art exhibits.

Significant gifts to The Arts Center thus far have also named the following: the (H-E-B) Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth Butt Lobby Gallery, the Gloria and James D. Zellerbach Green Room, the Dr. Roberto and Perla Robles Teaching Studio, the IBC Orchestra Pit, the Tipton Family Teaching Studio, the Neal and Lourdes Simmons Teaching Studio, the Sergio and Magda Arguelles Box and the Habet Family Concessions.

To learn more about giving opportunities, please contact the UTB/TSC Division of Institutional Advancement at (956) 882-4322.