The Block Museum of Art received a $1.5 million gift from Northwestern alumni Stephen Wilson (Weinberg ’70, Kellogg ’74) and Susan Wilson (Medill ’70) to support a new engagement program, according to a Friday news release.

“We have been excited by the work of the Block Museum in recent years to engage campus and community in teaching and learning experiences,” Susan Wilson said in the release. “The museum is uniquely poised as a resource to serve wide audiences and bring diverse communities together through art and conversation.”

The gift — part of the University’s “We Will” fundraising campaign — will permanently establish the Susan and Stephen Wilson Block Museum Engagement Fund, the release said. The Wilson fund will support engagement programs with NU and Evanston, including a partnership with local organization Youth and Opportunity United, Inc.

Susy Bielak, formerly the museum’s associate director of engagement and curator of public practice, will serve as the inaugural Susan and Stephen Wilson Associate Director of Engagement, according to the release.

“We are honored by (the Wilsons’) recognition of the Block Museum as a site of innovative teaching and learning experiences for both our students and our community,” Block director Lisa Corrin said in the release. “This visionary gift will help ensure meaningful engagement with art through partnerships and will expand the reach and impact of our programming.”

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @madsburk