The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio) will honor the late Amy Shelton McNutt as one of the most impactful and generous donors of the former Southwest School of Art, which integrated with UT San Antonio in 2022. The UT System Board of Regents and UT San Antonio have approved the naming of the historic buildings and gardens on the UT San Antonio Southwest Campus to the Amy Shelton McNutt Historical Arts Center.
The university celebrated the announcement with a special ceremony on April 13 at the Southwest Campus. The event gathered Amy Shelton McNutt’s family and endowment trustees, university leadership, and arts supporters.
The naming honors the impact of an initial $1 million gift made by McNutt in 1983 to create the Amy McNutt Endowment Fund for the Gardens of Southwest Craft Center. Today, the endowment has grown to more than $9 million in assets and has been transferred to UT San Antonio to continue the work of stewarding the gardens and grounds of the campus located in downtown San Antonio.
The endowment will expand to preserve and maintain the historic buildings on the UT San Antonio Southwest Campus, which serves as home to UTSA Arts, the School of Art, and the longstanding Community Arts Programs, administered in partnership with UT San Antonio’s Professional and Continuing Education (PaCE).
McNutt shared a deep passion for arts education, and through her original gift she intended to preserve the gardens and grounds of the former Ursuline Convent and Academy, established in 1851 as the first school for girls in San Antonio. She also sought to support the growth of the Southwest Craft Center, founded in 1965. The impactful gift inspired a generous donor community, which through the years, supported the evolution of the Southwest Craft Center into the Southwest School of Art that later joined UT San Antonio as a leader in advancing arts education across San Antonio and South Texas.
McNutt Gardens
The Gardens embody one of McNutt’s greatest passions: the love of nature. In 1978, she set out on a mission to donate a tree-studded garden to the Southwest Craft Center, located on the banks of the San Antonio River. Five years later during her 94th birthday celebration on August 23, 1983, attendees applauded the announcement that her generous contributions would establish an endowment for ongoing care of the campus grounds.
McNutt’s friend, the visionary Ruth Roby Johnson, with the help of many volunteers from the early donor and student community, created a stunning terraced garden with a pavilion, borders and lush landscaping that became the focus of the cherished gift from McNutt. Today, the continued beautification and maintenance of these historic grounds and buildings have been made possible with the help of Courtney Walker and Jack Guenther who served as endowment trustees. Their stewardship and passion for the gardens have added immeasurable value to the campus while honoring McNutt’s commitment to future generations.
“UT San Antonio’s Southwest Campus represents our university’s commitment to amplifying the arts while serving as a tribute to visionaries like Amy Shelton McNutt, who believed deeply in the power of nature to create spaces for artistry to thrive,” said UT San Antonio President Taylor Eighmy. “I’m grateful to the trustees of her endowment who have agreed to transfer the endowment to UT San Antonio. We accept this with great honor and are pleased to recognize her legacy by naming the historic buildings and gardens as the Amy Shelton McNutt Historical Arts Center.”
Through the support of the endowment, UT San Antonio has been able to continue the legacy of preserving, maintaining, enhancing and beautifying the historic buildings on the campus, some of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and as a Texas Historic Landmark, including the Ursuline Convent and Academy.
In 1974, the San Antonio Conservation Society played a major role in saving this historic site from destruction by purchasing most of the former Ursuline Convent and Academy Buildings and transferring ownership of them to Southwest Craft Center. In 2006, the National Trust for Historic Preservation recognized the excellently renovated condition of the historic buildings with its coveted National Preservation Award.
UT San Antonio Southwest Campus Historic Buildings
The buildings listed below preserve the legacies of the revered donors for which they are named and provide a tangible connection to the community’s past.
- Elizabeth Huth Coates Chapel
- Betty & Charles Urschel Jr. Administrative Building
- Nancy Brown Negley Academy Building; Margaret Batts Tobin Fibers Building
- Edith McAllister Ceramics Building
- Amy Shelton McNutt Building
These buildings serve as living monuments that tell stories of creativity, innovation and human expression. By safeguarding and preserving these historic buildings, and the gardens that grace them, UT San Antonio honors the contributions of past generations.
“UT San Antonio has long served as a vital partner within the San Antonio community, cultivating spaces where creativity and dialogue can take root. A gift like this strengthens that commitment and affirms the arts as essential to our shared civic and cultural life,” said UTSA Arts director Emilie Amrein. “The naming of the Amy Shelton McNutt Historical Arts Center recognizes a deep legacy of generosity and vision. It is my hope that the Center continues to be a site of connection and inspiration, where students, community members and supporters can engage in the arts as a practice of belonging, reflection and transformative possibility.”
