In January 2000, Christina M. Hixson and the Lied Foundation Trust made a gift of $18 million to the University of Nebraska Foundation to support the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s College of Fine and Performing Arts. The endowment benefits all areas of the college and supports programs, faculty and students in the College with a focus on strategic priorities, including domestic and international recruiting, infrastructure and travel support for the Global Arts Academy, and interdisciplinary collaborations and projects.
Hixson-Lied Advisory Board
The Hixson-Lied Advisory Board reviews and reacts to proposals for funding support from the Hixson-Lied Endowment. The board encourages proposals that will truly advance excellence in the College and are focused on the College’s strategic priorities. Additionally, the board oversees the investment of the endowed funds in cooperation with the University of Nebraska Foundation’s Finance Committee.
Since 2002, the Hixson-Lied Endowment has distributed more than $8 million in grants to our programs, faculty and students with a total impact of more than $16 million.
Funded Programs Include:
Hixson-Lied Visiting Artist & Scholar Lecture Series
The School of Art, Art History & Design’s Hixson-Lied Visiting Artist & Scholar Lecture Series brings notable artists, scholars and designers to Nebraska each year to enhance the education of students. Each visiting artist spends one to three days on campus to meet with classes, participate in critiques, give demonstrations and present a lecture.
Collaborative musical theatre productions
The Nebraska Repertory Theatre, in partnership with UNL Opera in the Glenn Korff School of Music, presented “Big Fish” in the spring of 2024. The production was directed by Assistant Professor of Practice in Theatre Ann Marie Pollard with musical direction by Assistant Professor of Voice Suna Gunther. The production also featured projections designed by faculty and students in the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts.
Choral Trip to France (2022)
In May 2022, the University Singers and Chamber Singers in the Glenn Korff School of Music did a choral trip to France and performed at extraordinary concert venues, including the Gothic Beavais Cathedral, Rouen Gothic Cathedral, the American Cemetery at Normandy, St. Michel, Le Mans Cathedral, and more. Their trip also included a visit to Monet’s Gardens at Giverny.
"We performed in a mass service at the St. Vincent Cathedral. Our sacred Latin pieces were a perfect fit for the solemn mood in that sacred space. How eye-opening to experience those pieces in the context for which they were intended.” –Mary Daugherty
Nebraska Young Artist Awards
which annually recognize Nebraska high school juniors who are talented in art, music, dance, theatre, or film and emerging media.
Student support includes:
- Student grants for undergraduate and graduate students for opportunities to study abroad or in the U.S., present scholarly/creative work, or create work that would otherwise be difficult to produce due to cost.
- Hixson-Lied Undergraduate Scholarships
- Hixson-Lied Graduate Fellowships
Faculty support includes:
- Faculty Grants for faculty who are creating or presenting work that brings national and/or international attention to the college and to the creative or scholarly work of the faculty. Grants include Research/Creative Activity Grants, Presentation of Scholarly and Creative Activity Grants, and Development Travel Grants.
- Faculty and Staff Awards to recognize outstanding performance and accomplishments in the areas of teaching, research and creative activity, service/outreach/engagement, and staff service.
- Hixson-Lied Professorships for tenured faculty at the rank of associate or full professor who do not already hold a named professorship.