This year saw the renaissance of Old Cabell Hall, one of three historic buildings designed for the south end of the Lawn by Stanford White. The building's restoration to its turn-of-the-century elegance was celebrated at a gala featuring internationally acclaimed forte pianist Malcolm Bison.

Interest in the arts at the University has enjoyed a similar resurgence, spurred by the success of the innovative Art$ program devised by drama professor and chair Robert Chapel. This assessment drawn against the student activity fee goes back to students in arts "dollars" that can be spent at programs as varied as the University's five-concert symphony season and installations by contemporary artists to screenings by independent filmmakers. Since the program's inception, student attendance at drama and musical events has increased 80 percent, and student membership at the Bayly Art Museum has increased from a few dozen to more than five hundred.