Sixthirtyone

Issue date: 1/20/10 Section: News

Media Credit: Alicia Smith

Media Credit: Robert Shipley / University of Tulsa Architect's rendering of completed Lorton Performing Arts Center.

Media Credit: Alicia Smith

Media Credit: Alicia Smith

Media Credit: Alicia Smith

Students returning to TU from the Christmas holiday will find more than just snow on the ground and a chill in the air. The forthcoming Roxana Rozsa and Robert Eugene Lorton Performing Arts Center (PAC) has progressed remarkably since students left for home in mid-December. In fact, even students who live in Tulsa will be surprised at the quick development of the facility.

"We are going to have a spectacular performance center when work is completed," promises TU President Steadman Upham.

Occupying space to the east of Harwell Field on Gary Place, the massive performing arts center has grown from little more than foundational columns and a metallic skeleton to its present state.

Since students left in mid-December, the PAC has seen the "…installation of the smaller members of the steel structures, especially with regard to the stage, fly, and auditorium cat walk," says Robert Shipley, Associate Vice President of Operations at the University of Tulsa.

Shipley says rainy weather in early December delayed the project for 10 days, and now construction is scheduled for completion in May 2011. "The summer of 2011 will be used for commissioning mechanical and electrical equipment, installing furniture and equipment, sound systems, security, etc."

Both Shipley and Upham say the PAC is on schedule to open in fall 2011.

The funding for the building has come from private donations from individuals, foundations and corporations, according to Kevan Buck, Vice President for Finance and Business. Buck says donations were received from both local and national sources, with the naming gift coming from the Lorton Family.

And yet for a time, it appeared as if it all might be delayed. "This project was initially put on hold when the economy tanked in 2008-2009," says Buck. There were delays in receiving the gifts which had been pledged over multiple years.

Remarkably, considering the dour economic climate, the delay didn't prove to be indefinite. It very well might have been, however, if not for a Tulsa foundation coming to the school's aid. "…We were able to go forward with the project after we reviewed all pledges and actually received a very low interest loan from the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF)…" Buck says.

The Foundation provided TU with an $8 million loan to expedite the building of the PAC. "They approached us and we were happy to do it," said Ken Levit, Executive Director for GKFF.

"We are a close partner with TU and have confidence in the President, and we believed in the project. The loan was secured by pledges, so we were secure we would be paid back," stated Levit.

While no word was given on when the $8 million loan is to be paid back, TU is already partnered with GKFF on other efforts, such as the revitalization of the downtown Brady District.

As Buck put it, "This project was really a great example of a campus community coming together with local foundations to move construction forward."

So why is the Lorton PAC so important to the University of Tulsa?

"TU has never had an adequate facility to showcase the marvelous musical and theatrical talents of our students and faculty," explained Upham. He said the PAC is meant to correct existing inadequacies in Tyrell Hall and Kendall Hall, as well as provide a new space for Film Studies.

"In a more profound way, the commitment to building the Lorton PAC says to the broader world, 'we value the fine and performing arts alongside our outstanding science, engineering, humanities, and social science programs.'"

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