The University of St. Thomas has received a $20 million gift toward arts education, the biggest arts-related donation to Minnesota’s largest private university in its 140-year history and nearly the largest known gift ever directed toward the arts at any university across the state.

The donation from repeat benefactor John Monahan of Palm Springs, Calif. will support arts programming and visual exhibits, faculty, scholarships and general education, largely through the College of Arts and Sciences. All students are required to take fine arts and humanities courses as part of their undergraduate core curriculum, with the goal of promoting critical thinking and helping students examine problems through multiple lenses.

University officials said the gift will expand artistic offerings throughout St. Thomas, especially in the departments of Emerging Media, Art History, Communications Studies, and Music, Film and Creative Enterprise. It also will be used to recruit and retain faculty who teach in the arts, and a portion will provide scholarships for students pursuing degrees in art history, digital media arts, creative writing, film studies and music, with an emphasis on supporting students with financial need.

Monahan, a former member of the Board of Advisors for the College of Arts and Sciences, graduated from St. Thomas with degrees in sociology and theology and has a master’s degree in public health from the Fielding School, part of the University of California Los Angeles. He spent nearly 30 years in the healthcare industry and, in retirement, supports a variety of artistic and social causes, including serving as a trustee of the Palm Springs Art Museum.

The John P. Monahan Plaza is located in the school’s lower quad. The new Schoenecker Center, a science, technology, engineering, arts and math building, is home to the John P. Monahan Gallery, as well as the “Portal Icosahedron,” a large sculpture by Anthony James that was gifted by Monahan.

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