The University of Southern Indiana broke ground today on the Kenneth P. McCutchan Art Center/ Palmina F. and Stephen S. Pace Art Galleries with a ceremony including President H. Ray Hoops; members of the USI Board of Trustees; representatives of the McCutchan and Pace families; and students, faculty, and staff.

Dr. David Glassman, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said, “Today we celebrate not just the construction of a building, but of a dream: A dream of a beautiful art gallery on campus to be shared by our students, our University community, and the entire Tri-state area.

“Our Department of Art is arguably the best in the state of Indiana in undergraduate excellence and in the professional prestige of its faculty. And now it will have a first-class gallery for exhibition space, a learning environment for our students in curatorial and gallery management studies, and a new outreach connection of cultural impact to Evansville and its surrounding communities."

The McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries will provide the space and accommodations for the Student Art Exhibition, student and faculty exhibitions, visiting artist exhibitions, traveling exhibitions, and Senior Art Seminars. It should be complete in about a year.

The construction of the McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries is due in large part by the generous gift of Kenneth P. McCutchan. A portion of a $1.5 million gift of the artist Stephen S. and Palmina F. Pace is establishing the galleries.