Artis Gift to Support Building Project
President Penelope W. Kyle (left) and College of Business and Economics Dean Faye W. Gilbert (right) with Board of Visitors Member Nancy Artis '73. Artis and her husband, Pat, recently made a $50,000 gift to the Capital Campaign for COBE.
Nancy ’73 and Pat Artis, of Pagosa Springs, Colo., have made a $50,000 gift to Radford University’s Capital Campaign for the College of Business and Economics (COBE) in honor of Mrs. Artis’ late sister Janice Eisenhart ’70. In recognition of the gift, which was announced on Friday, May 6, during a quarterly meeting of the Board of Visitors, the MBA library in the new building will be named the Janice Eisenhart MBA Library.
This is the second major gift the Artises have made to support the capital campaign for the COBE building. As the result of an earlier $30,000 gift, the executive conference room will be named the Nancy Eisenhart Artis Executive Conference Room.
“We are proud to provide funding to name the Janice Eisenhart MBA Library and the Nancy Eisenhart Artis Executive Conference Room in acknowledgement of the preparation and foundation for success that Radford University provided us,” said Mrs. Artis, who also serves as a member of the university's Board of Visitors.
“The naming of these adjacent spaces looking over the campus we both loved will forever bond us as two sisters whose lives were enriched by Radford University,” she added.
The Artises are owners of Performance Associates, an information technology company that serves the storage performance, replication and planning needs of Fortune 500 companies worldwide. The company recently commemorated its 25th anniversary.
“The Artises have made a powerful statement about the importance of honoring traditions as we prepare for the future,” said COBE Dean Faye W. Gilbert. “We at Radford University are grateful to honor the legacy of Janice Eisenhart in our MBA library and the commitment of Nancy and Pat Artis to enhancing the power of collaborative work in the professional conference room.”
The Artises’ wish to honor Eisenhart’s 38-year career in public education led the couple to broaden their support for the COBE building and include naming the MBA library in her honor, according to Mrs. Artis. Eisenhart was a library science major at what was then Radford College, and subsequently worked as a librarian in Manassas, Va.
“Janice loved books and the opportunities they provided to both enhance the education and expand the imagination of students,” said Mrs. Artis.
The Artis gift is the latest major contribution to the $16 million COBE campaign that consists of four components: a capital campaign culminating in the completion of the COBE building in the fall of 2012, a drive to generate additional student scholarships and endowments, development of additional faculty support through endowed chairs and centers of excellence and expansion of COBE’s outreach programs to southwestern Virginia and across the state through its outreach centers.