Industrialist and philanthropist A. Alfred Taubman has issued a $200,000 challenge grant to complete the funding required for the construction of Wayne State University Law School’s Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights.
Taubman said he would match each new gift received by July 2011 for the construction of the Keith Center, up to a total of $200,000.
The challenge grant brings Taubman’s total contributions to the Keith Center to $3.2 million — the largest in the law school’s history.
In 2006, Taubman committed $1.5 million for the construction of the Keith Center and bequeathed an additional $1.5 million to provide continued support.
As a result of the revised agreement involving the challenge grant, the $1.5 million planned gift officially has been earmarked to establish the A. Alfred Taubman Endowed Chair in Civil Rights in the Keith Center.
According to Keith Center Director Peter Hammer, just $400,000 of the $5.7 million budget is still needed to complete the building, which honors the life and legacy of Judge Damon J. Keith by carrying out his vision for civil rights.
“We are excited that Mr. Taubman again has given his support in the form of a challenge grant,” Hammer said. “The challenge grant will, no doubt, inspire the community to continue its support of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights.”
He added, “The creation of the A. Alfred Taubman Endowed Chair reflects a permanent commitment to ensure that the Keith Center will always benefit from strong and effective leadership.”
Taubman, a Detroit native, is a member of the Wayne State University Foundation Board.
He is a trustee of the College of Creative Studies, serves on the executive committee of Detroit Renaissance, chairs the Building Committee for the Detroit Institute of Arts and is president of the Detroit Arts Commission.
He and industrialist/philanthropist Max Fisher were instrumental in building the Riverfront Towers apartments.
Keith and Alfred Taubman have been friends for more than three decades, and have collaborated on several previous projects, including the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution.
“I have been lucky enough to call Judge Keith my friend for more than 25 years,” Taubman said. “He is one of the finest individuals I have ever known, and the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights will be a fitting tribute to his extraordinary legal career.”
Keith said he was “deeply appreciative to Mr. Taubman for the way he continues to step forward to give impetus to this important project at Wayne Law.”
The 10,000-square-foot Keith Center will feature an exhibit area, meeting space, conference space and a 60-person lecture hall. An exhibit area featuring Keith’s life and work and focusing on civil rights will also serve as a reception area for the law school’s clinics.
Wayne Law broke ground on the Keith Center in May.
Keith chose to have the ceremony on May 17 as the date coincided with the 56th anniversary of the historic Brown v. Board of Education ruling that declared separate schools for blacks and whites unconstitutional.
The project is expected to be completed in fall 2011.
“Partly through curriculum and partly through special programs and lectures, [the Center] will heighten awareness of civil rights in both the Law School and in the broader community and, of course, honor the legacy of Judge Damon Keith,” said Dean Robert M. Ackerman in a Model D article. “Civil rights is a major portion of the legal training of our students.”
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