As UC Davis prepares to open its new $53.5 million theater facility this fall, UC Davis faculty and staff members have the opportunity to put their name - or the name of a loved one - on chairs and paving stones.

Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef said he hoped members of the campus community will be inspired to lend support to the project.

"I strongly believe that every arts organization, every audience member, every performing artist and every student from the Napa Valley to the Lake Tahoe basin will be enriched beyond measure by the Mondavi Center," Vanderhoef said in his letter.

"Its stages will serve as a showcase for internationally acclaimed artists, a catalyst for regional performing arts organizations, a classroom for arts education and outreach activities, and an arts laboratory where UC Davis faculty and students will be able to experiment with the power of creative expression."

Gift giving is not limited to just naming seats and paving stones, says Anne Bishop, director of major gifts in the Development Office. For those interested in making a larger gift to the center, opportunities exist to name more significant features of the building and surrounding areas-including the $2.5 million studio theater.

Bishop points out that the Center for the Arts campaign is still going strong, with more than $29 million raised so far from organizations, alumni and friends.

The Center for the Arts campaign was given a big boost in September when vintner Robert Mondavi and his wife, Margrit, gave $10 million toward the main performance hall and studio theater complex.

The opening season festival for the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts begins Oct. 3 and continues with six weeks of events.

For the seats campaign, donors can name a seat in perpetuity in the 1,800-seat Barbara K. and W. Turrentine Jackson Hall for $2,500. In recognition, a plaque bearing the name will be attached to the seat.

For $1,000, donors may name a paving stone at the Mondavi Center. And for $500, they may place a name on a listing to be etched onto the paving stones at the fountain plaza in front of the center.

For a gift of $7,500, donors may name two adjacent seats and reserve the right to sit in those seats for most of the Mondavi Center's opening season performances. Thereafter, donors will be given first refusal to purchase tickets for those two seats before their release to the public.

Visit the Web at www.MondaviArts.org to find out how to make a donation for the seats and stones campaign. For more information, contact Verena Young, UC Davis Presents Director of Development, at (530) 757-3466 or at leuyoung@ucdavis.edu.

For those wanting to make larger contributions, contact Bishop at (530) 757-3390 or abishop@ucdavis.edu> abishop@ucdavis.edu.