An endowment honoring late Marshall University President Stephen J. Kopp and his wife Jane has been established for visual arts students in the College of Arts and Media.

Exceptional art from the Annual Student Juried Exhibition will be rewarded as part of the endowment.

Jane Kopp said in a press release that her husband hand-selected a piece from the exhibition each year to be displayed in his office.

“It meant a lot to him to be able to display the students’ art, and I think it meant a lot to the students, as well,” Jane said in the release.

Beginning in spring 2016, an award from the endowment for Achievement in the Visual Arts will also be given out.

School of Art and Design Director Sandra Reed said the endowment will help students finance expensive projects and Capstones, as well as allow them to travel abroad and learn.

Art and design majors traveled to New York City in 2014 and students just recently got back from the Marshall in Florence program. Students and faculty also take a trip to Washington, DC every year.

Dr. Ron Area, Marshall’s Senior Vice President for Development, said in a press release that President Kopp had a strong involvement with the art and design program at Marshall.

“Dr. Kopp had a true appreciation for the arts and recognized their importance in building a strong and vibrant community,” Area said.

President Kopp’s investment into the program can be seen in the university’s Visual Arts Center.

The Visual Arts Center, which opened last fall, is a six-floor building located in the heart of downtown Huntington. The $13 million transformation of the 113-year old building provided visual arts students with a state-of-the-art facility and added to the list of new facilities built under Kopp’s tenure.

The 30th Annual Juried Student Exhibition can be seen April 7-May 6, 2016, at the Birke Art Gallery in Smith Hall.