DU receives $20M gift for arts and technology
Newly minted institute will offer seminars, workshops
The Denver Post
A $20 million gift from the Law family will cement the University of Denver’s reputation as a global cultural center in a fastgrowing city with a thriving arts scene, university officials said Monday.
Seed capital funds from Dennis Law and his mother, Loretta Law, will establish the Joseph and Loretta Law Institute of Arts and Technology, and longterm funding will help ensure DU is a home for artistic creation that incorporates global cultures and genres, DU chancellor Rebecca Chopp said.
“The Joseph and Loretta Law Institute creatively advances the University of Denver’s vision as a global anchor institution dedicated to scholarship, creative endeavors, research and the public good,” Chopp said in a statement.
The newly minted institute will make accessible the most recent breakthroughs in artistic technology to students and the public through seminars, workshops, visiting fellows and scholars, performances and education, school officials said. DU will also establish an annual international electronic music festival to attract internationally renowned master performers of electronic instruments to Denver.
The festival is envisioned to grow to include electronic music from various media, including film, television and gaming.
The Law family has also entrusted DU to house a collection of art from its collections in the United States and Hong Kong, which officials said will add diversity to the university’s art and special collections.
Dennis Law is making the gift to honor his parents, Joseph and Loretta. An advocate of workplace standards in China, Joseph Law combined American ventures with Chinese talent in business ventures, Dennis Law said. At least one of their grandchildren attended the school.
Creating entertainment and intellectual content that improve people’s lives is a rewarding pursuit, Law said.
“Adding multinational and multicultural artistic and technological resources can expand the horizon and enrich the resulting mosaic of entertainment
“The Joseph and Loretta Law Institute creatively advances the University of Denver’s vision as a global anchor institution dedicated to scholarship, creative endeavors, research and the public good.”
Rebecca Chopp, DU chancellor
content for the future,” he said. “I can think of no better place than the University of Denver to partner with me in this vision and honor my parents.”
Law has committed funding to launch the Institute over the next several years and has made a philanthropic commitment that will endow the institute for years to come, DU said. Also, Loretta Law has committed gifts from her personal art collection to the institute that will add a “distinct international element” to DU’s collection, DU spokeswoman Theresa Ahrens said.
The institute will hold a global launch in February and feature several electronic music productions as well as the international electronic music festival, an awards ceremony and master classes available to students and members of the community.