University of St. Thomas received a $20 million gift for arts education, the largest arts-related donation to Minnesota’s largest private university in its 140-year history and nearly the largest known gift to the arts at any state university. .

The donation from benefactor John Monahan of Palm Springs, Calif., will support artistic programming and visual exhibitions, faculty, scholarships and general education, largely through the College of Arts and Sciences. All students are required to take courses in the fine arts and humanities as part of their undergraduate core curriculum, with the goal of promoting critical thinking and helping students examine issues through multiple lenses.

University officials said the gift will expand arts offerings throughout St. Thomas, particularly in the departments of Emerging Media, Art History, Communication Studies and Music, Film and Creative Enterprises. It will also be used to recruit and retain faculty teaching in the arts, and a portion will provide scholarships for students pursuing degrees in art history, digital media arts, creative writing, film studies and music, with a focus on supporting students with funding . need.

Monahan, a former member of the Board of Advisors for the College of Arts and Sciences, graduated from St. Thomas with degrees in sociology and theology and holds a master’s degree in public health from the Fielding School, part of the University of California Los Angeles. He spent nearly 30 years in the healthcare industry and in retirement supports a variety of artistic and social causes, including serving as a trustee of the Palm Springs Art Museum.

John P. Monahan Plaza is located in the lower part of the school. The new Schoenecker Centera science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics building, houses the John P. Monahan Gallery, as well as the “Portal Icosahedron,” a large sculpture by Anthony James that was donated by Monahan.