08/25/21

On the sunny morning of August 20, the Tiger community came together to celebrate Fort Hays State University’s new, stunning Schmidt Foundation Center for Art and Design and to commemorate its namesakes, Bob and Pat Schmidt.

Bob and Pat enjoyed nearly 69 years of married life together before Pat passed away in 2015 and Bob in 2017. The couple was known for their love of FHSU and their philanthropic support. With a generous $2.5 million gift, the Schmidt Foundation has carried on Bob and Pat's legacy and love for education, the arts, and Fort Hays State by naming a building with which the couple would have been enamored.

The Schmidt Foundation Center for Art and Design provides lab spaces for graphic design, interior design, drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, art education, art history, and photography. The facility also offers departmental office space, a multi-purpose lab, a traditional classroom, woodshop, graduate studios, commons area, and a ceramics kiln yard.

At the dedication ceremony, Gary Shorman, president of the Schmidt Foundation, remarked, "If Bob and Pat were here, they would be grinning ear to ear to see this facility and the talented students who walk these halls – just grinning to see how this incredible space has grown from a vision to the beauty that you see around us today."

Thomas Giebler, a graduate student in FHSU's Department of Art and Design, reminisced about the struggles of being an art student on the first floor of Rarick Hall prior to the Schmidt Foundation Center opening its doors in the fall of 2019. Giebler expressed his immense gratitude to the Schmidt Foundation for the new state-of-the-art building and the various amenities that he and his fellow students are able to utilize.

"We've always had incredible design programs and curriculums," he said, "and now we finally have a building that reflects that caliber."

Kurt David, a Schmidt Foundation Trustee, followed Thomas at the podium.

I can tell you that Pat would be so pleased to know that her and Bob's legacy is now allowing future generations like yourselves to learn the arts, to experience them and to express yourselves through art at Fort Hays State University," David said. "It would bring terrific joy and pride to her."

FHSU President, Tisa Mason, thanked the Schmidt Foundation for its continued generosity and support. Thanks to Bob and Pat Schmidt, the Schmidt Foundation Center for Art and Design will continue to be a home for art students for many, many years to come.

The joyful ceremony ended with Shorman presenting President Mason with a check that will fund five full-ride scholarships for the next round of Schmidt Foundation Scholars at Fort Hays State University. To learn more about the Schmidt Foundation Scholarship, who is eligible, and how to apply, visit https://fhsu.edu/admissions/scholarships/schmidtfoundation.

Learn how you can support the students and programs within FHSU's new Schmidt Foundation Center for Art and Design by contacting the FHSU Foundation at 785-628-5620 or foundation@fhsu.edu. To learn more about the FHSU Foundation, visit https://foundation.fhsu.edu.