Savvy businesswoman and entrepreneur Ann B. Bakhaus has a knack for seeing a need and finding a creative way to meet it.
During the University of Kentucky’s Kentucky Can: The 21st Century Campaign, Bakhaus’ resourcefulness and vision created positive impact: by donating a high-technology building that now houses WUKY while also supporting Opera Theatre productions. The productions are currently led by Everett McCorvey, D.M.A., director of Opera Theatre and Lexington Opera Society Endowed Chair in Opera Studies.
“I deeply appreciate Dr. McCorvey’s work, passion and leadership and through working with UK’s Gift and Estate Planning team, developed a creative solution to support Opera Theatre and WUKY at the same time,” says Bakhaus. “It was a classic example of a win/win proposition.”
The Bakhaus Fund helps sustain Dr. McCorvey’s work and that of his colleagues on behalf of 125 students enrolled in the vocal performance program, 50 orchestra students who perform on UK’s stages and scores of others who work behind the scenes. The fund is also an investment in Lexington and regional communities, where high-quality performances with visionary scope are possible at venues like the Lexington Opera House.
For almost a decade, the Bakhaus Fund has transformed lives, empowering students to pursue their dreams, discover their talents and change the world around them. Opera Theatre is a major cultural resource for the community of UK, Lexington and beyond.
“The arts help make us what we are in Lexington. We need artistic expressions—musical and visual—that lift the soul. It’s very important for us to develop this if we are going to be a strong, well-rounded community, and if we are going to recruit faculty members who can inspire students to create art of their own,” said Bakhaus.
Bakhaus’ fund was completed with a real estate gift that simultaneously launched a new home for WUKY, the university’s public radio station. UK began experimenting with radio as early as 1921. The on-campus studios in McVey Hall were built in 1939 and were used for nearly 80 years until Ann’s transformative gift in 2015. WUKY is known for helping to create National Public Radio (NPR). It was one of the first stations to broadcast NPR's “All Things Considered” during its 1971 debut.
“Ann’s gift was a strategic investment with a domino impact on two significant university and community outreach programs,” said Tom Barker, associate vice president for philanthropy and leader of the Gift and Estate Planning team. “We are immensely grateful. Gifts like this reinforce UK’s broader role, like the land-grant mission we’re founded on, to serve our community, the Commonwealth and beyond.”
UK has many ways to support UK programs and students by donating residential or commercial property, transferring your farm or designating your mineral rights to the UK Real Estate Foundation. Contact Gift and Estate Planning at 859-257-7886 or giftandestate@uky.edu to learn more about this creative way you can make an impact.