The University of Texas at Austin has announced a $55 million gift to its School of Music from Ernest and Sarah Butler.

The gift will provide support for student, faculty, and programs, with more than half of the funds targeting students' needs. Most of the gift will be paid in installments over the couple's lifetime, with a portion included as a bequest. In honor of the gift, the largest ever received by a music school at a public university, the school will be renamed the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music.

The Butlers, longtime major donors to local arts organizations, have created nine endowments in the School of Music since 1983. In 2004, the School of Music named its opera theatre program after the couple in recognition of a $2 million gift.

"I cannot overstate the significance of this gift for our School of Music," said Douglas Dempster, dean of UT Austin's College of Fine Arts. "This affords the University of Texas at Austin and the state an opportunity to create the very finest public music school in the nation. And that is our intent. The Butlers are truly exceptional patrons of the arts who understand the transformative power of bold giving. We're indebted to them for their generosity, for their vision and their visionary philanthropy."