Ground broken for new Surack – Sweetwater Music Industry Building at Purdue Fort Wayne
Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony on the campus of Purdue University Fort Wayne was capped off with some big news. The university’s $25 million, 26,000-square-foot facility that’s scheduled to open in time for the fall 2026 semester will be called the Surack – Sweetwater Music Industry Building. The name was chosen to recognize the crucial support Chuck… Read more »
Pearl Arts Music Academy to begin transformative mission, bringing music instruction to heart of downtown Fort Wayne
Pearl Arts is proud to announce the official launch of Pearl Arts Music Academy, a place where budding musicians from every Fort Wayne neighborhood can ignite a lifelong passion for music. Instruction will be offered inside the state-of-the-art Pearl Street Arts Center, located in the eastern third of the old Perfection Bakery site across from… Read more »
Chuck and Lisa Surack Make Second Gift to Life to the Full Campaign
Taylor University has received a significant pledge of an undisclosed amount from Charles “Chuck” and Lisa Surack of Fort Wayne for Life to the Full, the Campaign for Taylor—an initiative to raise $500 million for the University’s strategic plan, Taylor Thrives. Notably, $280 million has already been secured in gifts and gift commitments. “When I… Read more »
Purdue board approves new $22 million Purdue Fort Wayne music addition
Seven months after it was first announced, Purdue University’s Board of Trustees approved a new $22 million music center addition for the Purdue Fort Wayne campus. The new 26,000-square-foot space will accommodate anticipated growth in the Popular Music, Music Industry and Music Technology programs. Work is scheduled to begin in September 2024, and finish in… Read more »
New Purdue Fort Wayne music technology building is closer to reality
A proposed music technology building on the Purdue University Fort Wayne campus is receiving a massive boost from $15 million allocated for the project in the new state budget. That funding, in addition to the matching $3 million lead gifts announced in August from Chuck and Lisa Surack and the Auer Foundation, pulls the university… Read more »
Surack Family Foundation donates $100,000 to Ten Point Coalition
Little Oxford is no stranger to the lasting pain that homicides and the loss of community members can cause. In 2021, the neighborhood mourned four of its own – 26-year-old Sarah Zent, and her children, Carter Mathew Zent, 5; Ashton Duwayne Zent, 3; and Aubree Christine Zent, 2 – who were murdered in June. Through… Read more »
Surack Family Foundation donates to Manchester University
Chuck Surack and his wife Lisa recently gave $500,000 toward renovation of Otho Winger Memorial Hall at Manchester University. Read more
Surack Family Foundation pledges $3 million to Trine Fort Wayne
Trine University has received a $3 million pledge from the Surack Family Foundation toward Trine University Fort Wayne, the approximately 110,000-square-foot academic and training facility announced in June that will house programs in its College of Health Professions. “We are grateful beyond words for the Surack Family Foundation’s support for and endorsement of the Trine… Read more »
Purdue Fort Wayne receives $6 million in lead gifts for planned music technology building
From the moment Purdue University Fort Wayne first opened the doors of its music technology center on the Sweetwater corporate campus in 2018, interest in the university’s popular music and music industry programs has soared. In fact, Purdue Fort Wayne and its School of Music have quickly outgrown that building and are now planning construction… Read more »
Taylor receiving gift from Suracks
Fort Wayne philanthropists Chuck and Lisa Surack are giving Taylor University $5 million to build a new facility for its film and media program, the Upland school announced Thursday. The Surack Center for Entrepreneurship and Media Arts will also house Taylor’s entrepreneurial and innovation hub. The university hopes to break ground on the building this… Read more »