The Art of Giving

Long before there was a Center for the Arts, a group of community members worked diligently to help make the arts an integral part of George Mason University’s burgeoning campus life. George Mason donors play a vital role in both sustaining the arts and helping ensure its accessibility to all. They serve as advocates, championing creativity and cultural expression in ways that strengthen communities, widen perspectives, and inspire future generations. Here we highlight a few of the donors playing a role in the Mason Arts priorities in the Mason Now: Power the Possible campaign. 

Susan Aitel and Jonathan Goldman 

Susan Aitel and Jonathan Goldman, PhD Education ’20, support George Mason for straightforward reasons: its proximity and distinguished faculty. However, their deepest motivation for giving lies in their love for music and dedication to students. Together, Aitel, a retired federal employee, and Goldman, director of IT and security in the College of Engineering and Computing, support several endowments. The Grace Aitel Endowed Award was established in honor of Aitel’s mother, a pianist who taught her children to play. The Goldman Family Scholarship supports students studying wind instruments, classical guitar, and musical theater. 

Ruth Altheim 

In her personal blog, Creative Everyday, Ruth Altheim describes her introduction to music studies when she registered for a music appreciation course at George Mason in 2021. “I found the basic material so difficult that I made a commitment to do the work.” Following a distinguished career in business, Altheim has committed to “a magnificent retirement plan” and taken more than 30 classes at George Mason in music and the humanities. She will support scholarships in both the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences through a planned gift. 

Penny Barrows 

Penny Barrows, a longtime supporter of the Hylton Performing Arts Center, is an ardent supporter of the Veterans and the Arts Initiative since the early days of its inception in 2014–15 and has been instrumental in nurturing the program. Her “work ethic to go out and make it happen,” noted by her son, John Barrows, himself a strong proponent for veterans’ businesses and programs, facilitated the vital gathering of resources—bridging arts and community. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the initiative, which has served more than 16,000 military-connected individuals, offering free hands-on workshops and concerts for veterans, servicemembers, and military family members. Barrows’s continued support of the Veterans and the Arts Initiative builds on a lifetime of her accomplishments in art therapy and counseling to amplify people’s strengths. 

Louis Delair Jr.

An alternate address for Louis Delair Jr. could be the Center for the Arts—you might find him there on any night in one of the two seats he has reserved every season. He has supported the Friends of the Center for the Arts since 2013. When he sees CVPA dean Rick Davis, they don’t converse—they duet! In his life as a U.S. Department of State foreign service officer, Delair sometimes performed in productions as a hobby. He supports the arts because he loves them and believes a financial “shot in the arm” is sometimes needed to keep arts institutions going and growing. 

Didlake Inc.

Didlake Inc., a Virginia organization dedicated to providing employment and community engagement opportunities for individuals with disabilities, has been a longtime partner of the Hylton Performing Arts Center. At the Hylton Center, as well as at the Center for the Arts on the Fairfax Campus, Didlake has been instrumental in creating a welcoming performing arts experience for people with disabilities. Services are available for patrons of all George Mason performing arts centers and include differently configured musical instruments; providing closed captioning, American Sign Language, and open captioning for performances; sensory friendly lighting; advanced disability awareness training for ushers; and sensory-friendly kits for theater guests. In recognition of their contributions, the Hylton Center’s Didlake Grand Foyer is named in their honor. 

Tony and Trisja Podesta 

Supporters of the arts throughout the region, Tony and Trisja Podesta of Washington, D.C., have generously given or loaned photographs, paintings, video art, and sculptures to museums and universities including the Guggenheim Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and American University. Now they have entrusted George Mason with gifts of artwork from their impressive collection. Pieces from the Podesta Collection may be viewed on the Fairfax Campus, many in Buchanan Hall.