Giving to CALA: The Brunelleschi Circle
Background
Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) is the namesake for the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture’s prestigious donor leadership group: The Brunelleschi Circle. Brunelleschi is credited with raising the simple craft of architecture to the stature of a noble profession. Other Renaissance geniuses designed buildings, but they were primarily recognized for their artistic endeavors. For these artists, architecture was a secondary craft. Brunelleschi stood above them all. A goldsmith and clockmaker by training, Brunelleschi’s greatest work ─ the dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence, Italy ─ was a supreme triumph. It remains a beautiful, uplifting structure that to this day graces the skyline of Florence. Brunelleschi not only designed the dome but also the machines used to construct it and the engineered components that hold it together. Brunelleschi made it possible to span an unheard of distance.
In Ross King’s bestseller, Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture (2000), King depicts the magnitude of Brunelleschi’s talent: “Filippo’s work at Santa Maria del Fiore set architects on a different path and gave them a new social and intellectual esteem. Largely through his looming reputation, the profession was transformed during the Renaissance from a mechanical into a liberal art, from an art that was viewed as ‘common and low’ to one that would be regarded as a noble occupation at the heart of the cultural endeavor.”
Naming the College’s support organization after Brunelleschi signifies our commitment not only to the education of the very best students of architecture and landscape architecture, but also to innovation, discovery and achievement.
Purpose
The Brunellecshi Circle is a high-profile opportunity to support a new era in the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (CALA) at The University of Arizona. The patrons of The Brunesllechi Circle are advocates committed to assisting the College in achieving its visionary goals.
Funding generated through The Brunelleschi Circle will enable the College to maintain its level of excellence while striving for new realms of innovation and impact. Your membership in this Circle will support a number of priorities within the College. A few examples include:
---CALA’s 50-year Anniversary Celebration in 2008
---Building & renovation efforts
---The Brunelleschi Circle scholarships
---Technology enhancements
---Faculty teaching and research awards
---Student publications
Making an impact on the future livelihood of our professions is imperative. It starts with education and it starts with you.
Recognition and Benefits
Your membership in this prestigious Circle is not simply a financial commitment. It is a commitment to use your name publicly as a testament to the importance of private support in today’s world of higher education. The University of Arizona has evolved from a state-funded university to simply a state-assisted university. Only 28% of CALA’s budget is derived from the state. You are important to CALA ─ your name and efforts open doors for future financial and volunteer commitments to make an impact on our students. You help us create an example for others to emulate.
Moreover, members in The Brunelleschi Circle will use their talents to plan the College’s 50-year Anniversary Celebration during 200X. This celebration will not only mark 50 years of excellence in the College, as well be the largest gala in the College’s history, but it will perpetuate a new level of enthusiasm to embark on the next 50 years of innovation
As a member of the Brunelleschi Circle, you will have unparalleled access to the inner workings of the College, as well as its outstanding students and faculty. Members will have the opportunity to meet and interact with students and faculty who benefit from your support.
Members are also invited to special one-of-a-kind opportunities to visit outstanding examples of architecture and landscape architecture, as well as to share exclusive tours led by the College’s famous alumni and faculty. Special opportunities, seating and recognition will also be available at College and University events.
Commitment
In lieu of CALA’s 50-year celebration, the opportunity to join this prestigious, high-profile leadership group will only be open to 50 individuals. The leadership commitment to join The Brunelleschi Circle is $5,000, which may be paid in a single contribution or over the course of five years.
The Brunelleschi Circle is your opportunity to make a financial and volunteer impact on not only CALA and the University, but on today’s students who will impact your professions well into the future.
For more information regarding the need listed, as well as additional needs, please contact Patricia Coyne Johnson, Director of Development & Marketing.