University of Missouri-Kansas City receives 3 gifts

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The University of Missouri-Kansas City has received three significant gifts to support a proposed campus for the arts.

The university's foundation said it recently received $1.5 million from the David Beals Charitable Trust and two $1 million gifts from anonymous donors.

The Kansas City Star reported the gifts bring the university within $14 million of reaching its $48 million fundraising goal for the arts campus. It needs to reach that goal by June 30 to request matching funds from the state to cover the project's first phase, estimated to cost $96 million.

The arts campus would house the university's Conservatory of Music and Dance, replace several outdated buildings and move other facilities. About 600 students would be relocated to downtown, near the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.