Belmont University President Dr. Robert Fisher received the latest installment in gifts from the Maddox Foundation this week, $506,880 in gifts to help fund construction of the Maddox Grand Atrium, and to continue funding Belmont’s Presidential Scholars Program scholarships and the Rasmussen Foreign Studies Program.
The Maddox Grand Atrium will connect the new Curb Event Center and the new Beaman Student Life Center, with the entire complex opening in September on the Belmont campus.
The Maddox Foundation, created in 1968 honor of the late Dan and Margaret Maddox, committed $5.5 million the build the atrium two years ago.
“This was Margaret Maddox’s dream and that dream is coming true with the opening in September of this year,” Fisher said.
The Maddox Foundation continues the generosity of Dan and Margaret Maddox, who died in a tragic boating accident in 1998. Mr. Maddox established himself in the world of finance, oil and gas exploration, and real estate development. Mrs. Maddox shared with her husband a highly respected reputation in business and in community leadership.
The Foundation’s gifts to Belmont were among $1 million in gifts to a variety of organizations announced Tuesday night in an event held at the Country Music Hall of Fame, including gifts to support the YMCA Foundation, Bill Wilkerson Hearing and Speech Center, and the Boy Scouts of America.
The Foundation partially underwrites the Presidential Scholars program at Belmont, which each year names up to four incoming freshman to receive full scholarships for four years at Belmont. The scholarships cover tuition, fees, books, and room and board, a value of more than $80,000. The Foundation also supports student study abroad experiences through the Rasmussen Foreign Studies Program, developed by Wallace Rasmussen, retired CEO of Beatrice Foods.
“The Maddox family and the Maddox Foundation’s support of Belmont University will benefit Belmont students and the community for many years to come,” Fisher said.