Wertheim pledges $10 Million for School of Music Enhancement

Joshua Ceballos/Investigative Editor

Herbert Wertheim has pledged $10 million to transform the school of music.

As announced by University President Mark B. Rosenberg in an email teasing a “special announcement,” the namesake for the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center announced today a donation of $10 million dollars to enhance the building to include more student spaces for performances open to the community.

Wertheim, trustee emeritus and longtime donor to FIU, pledges a new grant to continue support music and the arts.

“I’m here to announce an additional love affair with the school of music and a grant of $10 million,” said Wertheim at the Board of Trustees meeting today. “And we’re gonna raise another 10 or 20 million to excel this school and make it one of the finest schools for performance anywhere in Florida.”

Wertheim promised that the rotunda section of the school would be changed to include student hangout spaces and a location for performances of Shakespearean theatre. He also said that the rotunda would be walled off so that it could support performances in hot and cold weather.

“We’re gonna have a new rotunda and a new student center for coffee and get-togethers,” said Wertheim to PantherNOW.

Wertheim also said that they will be increasing faculty and student scholarships for the school of music.

Opened in 1996 with an initial gift from the Wertheim family, the performing arts center has been the venue for FIU Theatre plays and musical performances for the past two decades.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Wertheim. “We’re in a very special location for the Spanish language, and there’s no reason our stage shouldn’t be a stage to feature the Spanish language from time to time.”

This article was updated to include an interview with Herbert Wertheim.