Stephanie I. Vondrak

A passion for the arts and a desire to bring the joy of artistic expression to others is central to Stephanie Vondrak’s philanthropy. When she moved to Las Vegas from New York 18 years ago, Stephanie brought with her a deep-seated appreciation for theater, music, and the visual arts. And when she wanted to make an impact on the cultural vivacity of Las Vegas, a connection with UNLV’s College of Fine Arts was the natural choice.

In 2021, Stephanie made a $1 million gift to the College of Fine Arts to establish the David and Stephanie Vondrak Endowment for Knowledge in the Arts. The endowment is a tribute to her husband of 42 years, David Vondrak, who passed away in 2012. The couple met at Ohio State University. After graduation they moved to New York, where she earned a master’s degree in urban studies from Fordham University. David received an MBA from NYU and went on to forge a successful career as a media executive at ABC, Capital Cities, and the Disney Corp.

The David and Stephanie Vondrak Endowment for Knowledge in the Arts provides unrestricted funds to the College of Fine Arts. It will support emerging, innovative creations in perpetuity. The fund helped launch the College of Fine Arts Around the World initiative, which demonstrates to students what it means to be a global artist-citizen. One of the projects was an original, multi-disciplinary work called Is it Art?. The piece received five-star reviews when it was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland in August.