Sacramento City College Receives $1 Million Gift; Creates Christopher D. and Dana Daubert Endowment for Art Education

Sacramento City College has received a $1 million gift from Christopher and Dana Daubert to support management of the Gregory Kondos Gallery, as well as greater access to the college’s multimillion-dollar, permanent art collection for the enjoyment and education of students and the community.

This is the largest gift to any Los Rios college by a living donor and will be used to establish the Christopher D. and Dana Daubert Endowment for Art Education. Creation of the endowment will provide funding for a Gallery Lead position which will create more consistent stewardship of the gallery and permanent art collection. The Gallery Lead will curate art shows throughout the year, coordinate more opportunities for use of the permanent collection in the classroom, and increase access to the permanent collection for art students learning about the creation, curation and showing of art.

“Dana and I spent our careers in education,” said Christopher Daubert. “Over the years, as we watched students come, grow, graduate, and move on to careers of their own, we realized what a valuable investment education can be. We are extremely grateful, and somewhat surprised, that we are in the position to make this gift to the current and future students of Sacramento City College.”

The Gallery Lead will also recruit, select, train and supervise student assistants for the art gallery. Together, this team will develop and implement a variety of cultural activities to accompany gallery exhibitions and related art programs, including artist receptions, public presentations, and lectures. The endowment’s support of the gallery will also open the door to exciting new opportunities for the college and the entire region to engage with art, furthering the mission of the college to empower students and the community through education.

“Words can’t express the generosity of Chris and Dana Daubert,” said Los Rios Community College District Chancellor Brian King. “As a former faculty member at Sacramento City College, Chris knows better than anyone the impact that arts education can have on our students and our community as a whole. Their extraordinary gift ensures that students for generations to come will benefit from the gallery and art collection at Sac City College and that Los Rios will continue to be a leader in the regional arts community.”

Christopher D. Daubert is an emeritus professor of art who taught in the Art Department at Sacramento City College for 23 years. He is an artist, writer and curator. He has exhibited his drawings, paintings and large multi-media installations locally and nationally for many years.

“This is such a fabulous and generous gift,” said Sacramento City College Interim President Albert Garcia. “It will benefit our students, the Art Department, and the community overall. SCC’s art program is rich in its history with renowned artists and talented instructors. This endowment will enable us to highlight art at the college for decades to come.”

The art program and art itself has had a long and storied history at Sacramento City College, with each era of artists, students, professors and community leaving a legacy at the college for future generations of artists. Sacramento City College’s permanent art collection was originally known as the Art Bank and began with a collection of work from students and faculty that were used in classroom instruction and lent to campus departments and offices for display. Over the decades, new student and faculty work continued to be added and additional pieces were gifted or acquired by the college. Today, the collection comprises approximately 1,200 pieces and include works by Wayne Thiebaud, Gregory Kondos, Fred Dalkey and Darrell Forney.