Foundation donates $2.5 million for arts programming at EIU

CHARLESTON -- A family foundation has donated $2.5 million to help pay for programming at a new arts center at Eastern Illinois University.

The Doudna Fine Arts Center is scheduled to open this fall.

The latest gift means the Tarble Foundation has donated more than $11 million through the years to benefit arts at the university. Newton E. Tarble was an EIU alumnus and co-founder of Snap-On Tools.

Including the foundation's $2.5 million gift, the university has raised $7.5 million for the "New and Emerging Artists Series" at Doudna.

University officials say the series will help present artists who challenge the boundaries and conventions of traditional art, music, theater arts and creative writing.