In the Limelight
Ben and Judy Kohl
The arts have had a profound influence on the lives of a Betterton, Maryland, couple. Their gift to the performing arts campaign will help ensure that today's students may also experience the beauty and power of the arts.
Benjamin G. and Judith C. Kohl, parents of Benjamin Kohl '83, have pledged $500,000 for the creation of a new 1,200-square-foot art gallery. M. Kohl, who joined the Board of Visitors and Governors in 2006, serves on the Performing Arts Campaign Committee.
The Kohl Gallery will be located on the first floor of the performing arts center, which is slated to undergo extensive renovation and expansion over the next two years.
"Our spending so much time in Italy has made the visual arts an integral part of our lives," remarked Ben Kohl, a Renaissance scholar who taught medieval and early modern history at Vassar College. "Funding the Kohl Gallery meant enhancing that importance by assuring a state-of-the-art venue for the visual arts at Washington College."
The Kohls' gift brings the total given by members of the Board of Visitors and Governors to the project in its "quiet" stage to nearly $3 million.
The Kohls' involvement with the College began with their son's education and has deepened over the years. Both have taught and volunteered for the Washington College Academy of Lifelong Learning (WC-ALL), Judy chairs the Friends of Miller Library, and Ben serves on the 225th Anniversary Steering Committee.
The art gallery gift follows the couple's major gift in 2005 to support innovations in the Miller Library.