When she set foot on the University of Michigan campus, René MacVay didn’t know what she wanted to study, but she knew what drew her to Michigan. The chance to be in a bigger town with more diverse people and stunning architecture, along with a reputation for academic excellence, made the choice an easy one. She remembers walking around town with her family and being in awe of the buildings. It was beautiful and it felt like home.

“Art History opened my eyes to the world.”

Eventually she settled on a pre-med major, but it didn’t feel quite right. When a friend suggested she take a course in art history, she didn’t have many expectations beyond fulfilling her distribution requirement. But in the course, something clicked; she found her passion and an expanded worldview. “I felt like I understood what it meant to be a global citizen. I understood my classmates and other cultures much better than the singular culture in which I was raised.” She immersed herself not just in her studies but also in traveling, museum exhibits, and cultural events. The experiences were transformative in connecting what she learned in the classroom to tangible art.

After graduating with her bachelor’s degree in art history from U-M, MacVay moved to California and began to study and prepare for law school. After taking the LSAT and being accepted to her choice of law schools, she ultimately decided that it wasn’t what she wanted. She went back to school again and earned a teaching credential.

She began teaching at the elementary level, and then moved on to teaching English and the history of art at postsecondary schools. She has now been teaching for more than 20 years. More recently, she also serves as a rater for Advanced Placement exams.

“My students that I’ve worked with one-on-one—they all say that studying art history has made them a better person because they understand somebody else’s feelings and beliefs. You gain an understanding of social, political, and religious cultures through art history. I do believe that in order for us to maintain some type of global harmony, we need to understand other people.”

Preserving the Future through Education

MacVay credits her time at Michigan and the work ethic instilled in her by her parents with shaping her identity and values. When she started thinking about philanthropy, it was important to her not just to give back, but to ensure other people have access to an excellent education. As an educator herself, she knew firsthand that started with valuing educators.

As a generous legacy gift, the MacVay Shobar History of Art Fund will help the department recruit and retain talented faculty in a competitive academic environment. MacVay knows that teaching is hard, and often underpaid work, and educators play a pivotal role in generating interest and passion for a subject. Her hope is that by attracting and retaining top art history educators to the University of Michigan, students who learn about the subject from them will be as inspired as she was to pursue it as a course of study.

Through LSA’s Planned Giving Match Initiative, MacVay’s gift will make an immediate difference. The college will match 10 percent of a donor’s planned gift, up to $10,000, and those funds can be used immediately for causes the donor designates. In this case, the match to her gift will establish the MacVay Shobar History of Art Fund in this calendar year. This means the Department of the History of Art can pursue MacVay’s vision of increased faculty recruitment and retention, and she can see the impact of her philanthropy in her lifetime.

MacVay noted that with so many options for where to give, she wanted to make sure what she gave to was personally meaningful and beneficial to generations after her. Part of her gift will also establish the MacVay Shobar UMMA Fund, which will support educational programs and initiatives at the University of Michigan Museum of Art.

She is familiar with conservation, curation, and preservation. She knows that preserving beautiful things matters deeply, and this same perspective colors her approach to philanthropy.

“Walking into a museum, taking an art history class, having a humanities experience is important for everyone,” MacVay notes. “I wanted to ensure that something that was beneficial to me would still be around for future generations.”


Photos courtesty of René MacVay

 

Look to Michigan for the foundational knowledge and experience to ignite purposeful change. 

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