The UC Davis Department of Art, whose faculty helped launch Northern California's post-modernist art movement, has received a $1 million gift to support its international student body of promising artists. The gift -- the largest that the division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies has ever received -- comes from the estate of Freemond E. "Pete" Gadberry, a 1967 alumnus of the art program. Gadberry asked only that his gift support art students.

The art department at UC Davis has for decades been one of the highest-ranked in the country. In the late 1960s, California was at the center of contemporary art culture and many of its iconic leaders taught on campus, including Roy DeForest, Wayne Thiebaud and Robert Arneson. With the quality of its faculty, and alumni like Bruce Nauman, Deborah Butterfield and Steve Kaltenbach coming out of the program, the department became one of the most competitive in the nation by the 1970s. That reputation was later quantified in 1994, when the art department's Masters in Fine Arts program was ranked first among public universities and colleges by US News and World Report in its annual survey.

Today, UC Davis' art program remains ranked among the top 15, and its selective admissions underscore its esteem -- for each spot in the department's master's program, there are nearly 350 applicants. But the department faces challenges that make Gadberry's gift a timely infusion of funds. The dean and department chair had been observing the effect of lean scholarship funding on the department's ability to attract the best students. In addition, this year was the first time that the department was not able to support students who wanted to study in important residency programs such as the Skowhegan Summer Program and the Headlands Studio Program.

"Having this gift from Pete Gadberry fall in our laps was amazing for us," said Lucy Puls, chair of the department. "This level of support will distinguish the program by providing support for our best students for decades and decades to come. Gadberry's generosity will leave a legacy in its impact on UC Davis' venerable art program."

The department will use the $1 million gift to create an endowment, allowing awards to be issued in perpetuity. These awards will help the department recruit and support the most promising new student artists, both California residents and also out-of-state and international students who cannot afford the non-resident fees. The UC Davis art program faces stiff competition for students from programs at Yale, Rhode Island School of Design and Stanford, all private schools with large endowments that can provide students with significant financial assistance.

Puls was not surprised that the gift came from an alumnus of the program. "When Gadberry attended Davis, the art program was a special place," she said. "The department wasn't on anyone's radar -- the campus was known as an agricultural school. The students who came to our program were very pure and genuine in their motivation to make art. They didn't think they'd be art stars, although, ironically, these same students helped create the stellar reputation our graduate program has today."

Maureen Miller, assistant dean of college relations and development, visited Gadberry shortly before his death. According to Miller, he impressed upon her the importance of the program in his life. "He told me, 'The art department was a place of great experimentation and freedom. I never forgot how much I liked that atmosphere at UC Davis and how important it was to me,'' Miller recalled.

Gadberry attended California State University, Chico, and then received his master's in fine arts at UC Davis in 1967, before spending some time doing his own art. However, his main focus was creating and supporting young artists. Gadberry taught fine arts at Vintage High School in Napa, Calif., retiring in 1997. He passed away in June 2006 from cancer.

Jessie Ann Owens, dean of the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies, said she feels Gadberry's gift will transform the art program: "This is the largest bequest our division has ever received, and we are grateful to Pete Gadberry for it. It is a tribute to the strong tradition of studio art on this campus, which has been a hallmark in our division for decades. Students will be able to participate in the experience that Gadberry had, which is a lasting gift in itself."