A new landmark donation to the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma will help preserve the legacy of the American School, one of the most important movements within midcentury modernism, thanks to the generosity of legendary professor Bob Faust’s widow Sherry.

The multimillion gift will go towards maintaining the school’s archive, hiring a curator to oversee the collection and coordinate exhibition programming around it, creating a permanent exhibition space in the lobby of Gould Hall, an annual fellowship, and a four-year funded professorship for special research projects related to design topics.

The college’s Division of Architecture director Stephanie Pilat said the professorship is designed in a “flexible way,” adding it would come with a salary stipend and a budget to pursue projects related to the American School. “It will provide support for that library which supports this important history, and it will provide funding for a curator of the archive libraries,” she added.

“Sherry Faust’s remarkable commitment to celebrating and building on the legacy of the American School will allow OU to remain the preeminent authority on this important movement,” university President Joseph Harroz Jr. said finally. “As OU continues to expand our capacity as a premier research institution, the Faust gift allows us to enhance that reputation in an area devoted to design, history and craft.”

The exhibition Renegades on the legacy and impacts of the American School can be found here.