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JCCC names spaces to honor donors
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Johnson County Community College
Press Release

College Information and Publications
913-469-8500
Julie Haas, Director, ext. 3120
Peggy Graham, Writer, ext. 3425
Tyler Cundith, Sports Information Director, ext. 3122

7/10/08
Julie Haas

JCCC names spaces to honor donors

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Two more spaces in Johnson County Community College’s Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art will be named for donors.

The board of trustees approved the naming recommendations, presented by the JCCC Foundation, at their monthly meeting July 10. The spaces are:

  • The Dean E. Thompson Gallery – the northeast temporary exhibition gallery on the first floor of the museum
  • The James Biffar Foyer – the space between the exterior and interior doors at the front entrance to the museum

The Dean E. Thompson Gallery
The Dean E. Thompson Gallery is named for Dean Thompson, one of the first people to become involved with the JCCC Gallery of Art when it opened in 1990. Since then, Thompson has donated 18 works to the college, which are included in the college’s permanent collection. He was a member of the Gallery Associates and is now part of the Members of the Nerman Museum. He was chairman of Beyond Bounds, the gallery fundraiser, in 1996 and joined the JCCC Foundation board in 1997, where he serves on the Foundation investment committee. Thompson worked for 32 years for Amoco Oil Corporation in international audit operations. He retired to Kansas City in 1986.

“I’m looking forward to many more years’ association with the museum,” Thompson said. “It’s exciting to be a part of it.”

The James Biffar Foyer
The museum foyer is named in honor of James Biffar, a longtime volunteer in the Gallery of Art who passed away suddenly in 2006. His efforts during the Beyond Bounds fund raisers were instrumental in making those initiatives successful. The naming is at the request of Bruce Hartman, museum director, as part of a gift to the museum.

“Jim Biffar was a major collector of American Indian art and a longtime supporter of the Gallery of Art,” Hartman said. “The James Biffar Foyer is a testament to Jim’s passion for art and his advocacy for the college. I deeply appreciate the opportunity to honor my friend – and fellow collector – in this manner.” 

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