[media-credit name=’LUKAS KEAPPROTH/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]

University of Wisconsin music faculty expressed excitement Tuesday in the wake of the announcement of a $20 million donation from anonymous donors to support a new campus music center.

Although the donors wish to remain anonymous for the time being, great things are expected from the center they have helped fund, which will be built on the northwest corner of University Avenue and Lake Street.

UW director of planning and construction Gary Brown said the university owns all but two properties on the land where construction is planned.

Brothers, a popular campus bar, is located on one of the properties the UW does not yet own. John Schaffer, director of the UW School of Music, said the Board of Regents is currently negotiating the purchase of the property.

As for the timeline of the project, the current estimate is that construction will begin in early 2009 and finish by 2013.

But Brown stresses that the dates are still tentative. There are a number of factors, such as hiring architects and raising more funds, that could shake up the projected timeline.

Schaffer hopes this center will serve as “a public liaison between the university and the community.”

Schaffer said the new halls could also be rented to local high school groups, thus bringing more of the Madison community onto campus.

This donation jump-starts progress of the East Campus Mall project, which includes an addition to the Chazen Museum of Art.

Although Monday may have been the first time some students heard of the plans for the new performance center, it came as no surprise to some university staff members.

“It has been in the works for years,” Schaffer said.

Thanks to the recent gift, the long-awaited project is closer to construction. Schaffer said anonymous gifts are rare, particularly one of this size. 

“Most everything has a name on it,” Schaffer said.

The donation was announced Monday at an event to celebrate the career of former Chancellor John Wiley, whose retirement was effective Sept. 1.

Wiley was very involved in this project during his tenure. In a phone interview with The Badger Herald the former chancellor explained that rebuilding the east end of campus has long been a goal of his.

The building of new dorms and tearing down of older buildings like the old Ogg Hall are just a few ways in which the east end of campus is already being transformed.

“I’m really delighted we’ve got a good start,” Wiley said.

Wiley encouraged all students to attend some of the events that are put on by the university’s arts programs.

“If you don’t take advantage of [these opportunities], then you haven’t gotten the full extent of what you’ve paid for,” Wiley said.