Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center (GBPAC) will be receiving a facelift in 2022 after the Pauline R. Barrett Charitable Foundation donated $2 million to the UNI Foundation GBPAC. The contribution will go towards a $14.9 million expansion and renovation to the building. The center of the expansion will be the “Pauline R. Barrett Charitable Foundation Marquee Lounge.” Construction for the expansion and renovation is expected to begin in the summer of 2022.

The marquee lounge will serve as a place for guests to have coffee, drinks or dinner around showtimes. It will also serve as a classroom for the GBPAC’s Kaleidoscope students, where they can discuss and reflect on performances. The Kaleidoscope program hosts over 40,000 local preschool to 12th grade students to come to performances for only $1 per student. The space for Kaleidoscope participants would be especially meaningful to Barrett, as she had a particular empathy for the local youth.

Barrett was a Waterloo resident and a connoisseur of local culture. People who knew her describe her as an uplifting, wonderful, and philanthropic person. She was involved in many community organizations before she passed away in 2018.

During her life Barrett greatly enjoyed attending shows at the GBPAC. She financially contributed to UNI many times throughout the years. Barrett was one of the first people to extend a leadership gift to help establish GBPAC. She also gave scholarships to students attending UNI, and she donated to multiple projects on the campus. After Barrett’s passing, the trust foundation is doing their best to contribute to the community in ways that are true to what she stood for. 

Ultimately, the foundation wants to make Cedar Valley a place that Barrett would be proud of.

More information can be found at foundation.uni.edu/Barrett.