AUSTIN, Texas — Crowned by a dazzling 5,000-piece suspended art installation within a five-story atrium, dozens of contemporary artworks bring color, warmth, and connections to the stunning architecture of Robert B. Rowling Hall at The University of Texas at Austin.

During a Winter Soiree in late January, faculty, staff, and students celebrated the completed installation, which was generously underwritten by Carolyn and Preston, UT ’62, Butcher. The Butchers joined Texas McCombs Dean Lillian Mills and curator Mindy Taylor Ross to thoughtfully select art for this permanent gift of 71 works by 23 artists. The pieces are displayed throughout all five floors of the light-filled home of the McCombs School of Business graduate programs.

Created by world-renowned artists, iconic innovators, and emerging Texas stars, the paintings, photographs, and other mixed media artworks create a sense of place that fosters connection, says Mills, who oversaw the project as chair of a special Art Advisory Committee.

“Art stimulates the imagination and generates conversations. I hope art will be part of students’ lifetime memories of their amazing graduate education,” Mills says. “It’s important to bring us together, to bring us joy.” 

The remarkable collection complements the striking architecture of the building, which opened in 2018, and brings a new layer of inspiration to an acclaimed structure designed for rigorous thinking, dynamic collaborations, and ambitious goals. 

A Glimpse of the Art

In addition to the spiraling, cloud-like installation by Jacob Hashimoto in the hall’s entry, the works of abstract artist Ellsworth Kelly, designer Paula Scher, international innovator Julian Opie, Texas rising star Landry McMeans, and nearly 20 other creators enrich the lives of the building’s faculty, staff, students, and visitors.

See a full catalog of all the artworks here.

“The new space is a respite for the soul,” says Janet Allen, immediate past chair of the Blanton Museum of Art National Leadership Board, Austin philanthropist, and a Tower Fellows alumna. Allen served on the project’s Art Advisory Committee.

Some of the art adorns high-visibility walls, while other pieces offer unexpected moments inside study rooms and private conversation areas. Allen sees it sparking creativity and curiosity in students who will be entrepreneurs, social change agents, and our future leaders.

“Living with art is so different than just visiting a museum,” she says. “What a gift to the McCombs community.” 

Matching Donors With a Dream

The Butchers’ gift evolved when the couple approached Mills, a longtime friend, with the idea. UT donors and lifelong patrons of the arts, the Butchers enjoy a California home filled with vibrant contemporary works. In 2019, they began supporting hospital patients and families by funding art installations at Stanford University Hospital. 

In April 2024, they invited Mills on a tour of the hospital with their art adviser and suggested that they could use their art patronage to enhance the McCombs experience. “I loved the variety, look, and feel of the pieces at Stanford,” Mills recalls. “Carolyn and Preston wanted to have a similar — if not more dynamic — impact at McCombs.” The unadorned spaces of Rowling Hall were perfect for this top-to-bottom vision.

“It’s a privilege for Carolyn and myself to have the unique opportunity to provide art for a whole building,” Preston Butcher says. 

At the Intersection of Art and Business 

The significant investment “will elevate the McCombs experience,” says Caitlin Mullaney, senior associate dean for business affairs and chief operating officer. She served on the Art Advisory Committee and played a key role in guiding the two-year process from idea to acquisition to installation.

“These works of art represent our deep commitment to promoting creativity and curiosity within the academic context, as we engage students in thoughtful conversations beyond the boardroom or classroom,” Mullaney says. 

The tactile, almost intimate quality found in pieces like Kenny Nguyen’s sculptural painting combination feels especially meaningful in a business school, says Sarah Shields, McCombs director of enrollment management and strategic partnerships and a member of the Art Advisory Committee.

“This display reminds us that even in our busy, analytical spaces, our work is shaped by human hands, human histories, and human stories,” Shields says.

Tina Mabley, senior assistant dean for the Full-Time MBA program and a member of the Art Advisory Committee, agrees, noting that art elevates the daily experience in a sophisticated learning environment.

“It sparks conversation. It creates moments of pause. It softens the edges of our busy academic environment. Since the installation, I’ve witnessed so many spontaneous interactions and conversations,” says Mabley, who also served on the original architectural design review committee for Rowling Hall.

“Seeing our physical space animated and enriched through art feels like the final, beautiful layer of a vision that began more than a decade ago,” Mabley adds. 

Alumni Groups Back Collection

Recent MBA graduates added to the Butchers’ monumental gift.

• The Class of 2017, who were students during Rowling Hall construction, contributed funds toward art for the space in the MBA Program Office, which houses pieces by Mickalene Thomas and Dahlia Elsayed.
  
• The Class of 2019 raised funds in the memory of late classmate Justin Shapiro. Five graphic maps by Paula Scher, located on Level 3, reflect Shapiro’s love of travel and how he engaged the international culture at McCombs. 

“A lot of people are naturally drawn to these maps,” says Shields. “The international reach of the MBA program is in a world all its own. I love seeing how excited the MBA students are to connect with peers not just nationally but internationally.”

Choosing Art: Listening and Collaboration

With the funding secured, leadership began the detailed process of curating and displaying art within Rowling Hall. It wasn’t as simple as “running out and buying some paintings to hang up,” Mills shared at the opening ceremony.

She and the rest of the Art Advisory Committee interviewed art consultants from across the country and eventually selected Mindy Taylor Ross, owner and chief curator at Art Strategies LLC, a fine art consulting agency that works with clients in the public and private sectors. 

Her firm’s recent work includes curated art programs for landmark sites at Vanderbilt University; a new convention center expansion and 800-room hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana; collaboration on a master plan for the Civic Center Plaza in Corning, New York; collaboration related to the (Indianapolis) Indiana Convention Center; and many other corporate, residential, and civic projects.

“At McCombs, I enjoyed the emphasis on people and collaboration; the idea that we’re better together,” Ross says. “Arts and culture unify us as people, whether you want to say Americans or whether you just want to say humans on this earth. These shared values are critical.

“And ultimately, as Dean Mills would often remind us: in a place such as Rowling Hall, art should bring moments of joy.”

Selections should reflect Austin’s independent and nature-loving ethos while connecting to global societies, the panel decided. With input from students and staff, they developed additional selection criteria: The best choices also would be human-centered, future-focused, innovative, and collaborative. 

“Those concepts were how we took the temperature of any of our selections,” says Ross, whose experience with large-scale installations was vital to the process. 

“The building is gorgeous, but it is very angular. It’s very hard, white, and neutral. We needed a little softness and a little something to take the architecture down to more human scale.”

Putting Students Front and Center

The committee and Ross’ firm worked with focus groups of faculty, staff, and students to understand the needs of those who work and “live” in the building.

Students had strong feedback about bringing art into closed spaces, Ross says, noting they spend so much time studying or Zooming in “little white boxes.” 

As a result, “we were able to be efficient with the budget and put art in several of the study rooms,” Ross says. “I think it makes an incredible difference.” 

MBA candidate Kari Soustiel agrees. “Art brings joy and optimism, especially during stressful times like examinations,” he says, adding that he appreciates the thoughtful choices of colorful collages and flowers and the bold scale in spaces where he studies. 

“The pieces don’t feel random or ‘corporate’ or like generic lobby art. They feel intentional and carefully considered.”

What’s Next?

Within the McCombs community, Dean Mills envisions a future art fund and hopes alumni and more graduating classes will be inspired to contribute. She’s also eyeing opportunities for adding art to the nearby Mulva Hall, which is expected to open in 2028.

“Of course, our needs for student support, research, programs, and faculty are always our first priorities,” she explains. “But there are many ways to expand our students’ experience, and I hope the legacy of art will speak to some donors. 

“Carolyn and Preston Butcher definitely wanted to be the first, not only, donors for this aspiration.”

Story by Sandra Kleinsasser

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