Alfred University in Alfred, New York, has announced a $35 million gift — the largest in the school's 169-year history — from Marlin Miller, Jr., '54, in support of its visual and performing arts programs.

The two-part gift includes $10 million to build a five-hundred-seat proscenium theater at the university's Miller Performing Arts Center, which is named in recognition of a previous gift from Miller. The remaining $25 million will be added to the university's endowment to support scholarships for students of the arts, professorships, and arts programming.

"Marlin Miller has provided the leadership, the vision, and now the wherewithal to create a true national center for the arts at Alfred University," said university president Charles Edmondson. "We will now begin the discussion of how best to make Mr. Miller's vision a reality."