Record executive Mo Ostin gives $10 million to UCLA for new music center
UCLA
May 5, 2011
Music industry executive and philanthropist Morris "Mo" Ostin has donated $10 million to UCLA for a state-of-the-art campus music facility to be known as the Evelyn and Mo Ostin Music Center.
The Ostin Music Center will include a high-tech recording studio, spaces for rehearsal and teaching, a café and social space for students, and an Internet-based music production center. Adjacent to the Schoenberg Music Building and the Inverted Fountain, the new structures will provide faculty and students access to the latest advances in music technology, research and pedagogy.
"Mo's magnificent gift secures UCLA's standing as a leader in music and music education," UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said. "As a cutting-edge music facility, the Evelyn and Mo Ostin Music Center will allow UCLA to provide the dynamic training ground students need to be future leaders in the performing arts."
"With one of the top music programs in the country, UCLA is preparing the artistic leaders of the future," Ostin said. "I am proud to show my continued support with the creation of a center that will prepare students for careers not only in performance and academia but also in music journalism, the entertainment business, and the public and nonprofit sectors. In today's competitive global environment, students need to be well-rounded professionals."
Over the years, Ostin, who earned his bachelor's degree in economics from UCLA in 1951, and his late wife, Evelyn, who passed away in 2005, have been passionate supporters of the university, most notably in the arts, athletics, medicine and education. In 1998, the Ostins served as co-chairs of the fundraising gala "Royce Hall Encore — Celebrate the Return" after major renovations took place in the famous hall. They were also founders of the UCLA Film and Television Archive Council.
Mo Ostin continues his support of the arts at UCLA in his role as a longtime member of the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture's board of visitors. He is a Chancellor's Associate and a member of the UCLA Alumni Association.
In a career that covered six decades, Ostin exerted a profound influence on the music industry and gained a reputation as one of the most artist-friendly executives in the record business. During his time as an administrative executive and controller at Verve Records, Frank Sinatra signed him as president of Reprise Records, which was later purchased by Warner Bros.
