RICHMOND, VA.- The University of Richmond will hold ceremonies to rename art museum in honor of donors Joel and Lila Harnett. Ceremonies to officially rename the university’s art museum and to honor donors Joel and Lila Harnett will be held 3-5 p.m., Saturday, April 30, in the Modlin Center for the Arts. The event, which is free and open to the public, will honor the Harnetts, who live in Phoenix but will be in Richmond for the dedication. They are longtime supporters of the visual arts at the university, and Joel Harnett is a class of 1945 alumnus. Richmond President William E. Cooper and former President E. Bruce Heilman will speak. A reception will follow.

Formerly the Marsh Art Gallery, the newly named Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art is one of three museums known collectively as University Museums. The others are the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature and the Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center.

The Harnetts have supported many of the museum’s exhibitions during the past 20 years, and in 2001 they made a major contribution to establish the Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, the only facility of its kind in the region, and to give the museum an endowment for print acquisitions and programs.

The Harnetts also have given significant artwork to the museum’s permanent collection, and they continue to fund the Harnett Summer Fellow, which allows a Richmond undergraduate to work full time with museum staff to research the collections and curate exhibitions. This year’s summer fellow will be announced at the dedication ceremony.