Philanthropist Maria Manetti Shrem has pledged over $20 million to fund arts programs at University of California Davis, resulting in its largest-ever gift to campus arts.

The gift funds eight endowments for arts and design, including three new faculty chairs within the College of Letters and Science. The Maria Manetti Shrem Arts District, spanning Hutchison Drive from the historic TB 9 art building to Shields Library, will bear the international art patron’s name in recognition of her support of multiple disciplines. In addition to the arts district, UC Davis will name existing programs and spaces in her honor, including the “Maria Manetti Shrem Art Hall” and “Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program.”

Beyond UC Davis, Maria Manetti Shrem and husband Jan Shrem support more than 30 foundations among the United States, Italy and the United Kingdom, including, The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Festival Napa Valley, Cal Performances, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, San Francisco Symphony, and more. They have worked to expand Italian language, music and visual arts education in secondary schools by supporting programs such as ArtSmart.

“At this stage of my life, the art of living coincides with the art of giving. This gift to UC Davis brings me great joy, as education and the arts have profoundly impacted my life,” said Manetti Shrem in a press release. “I believe the arts should be accessible to all. We need the humanities — they nurture the soul and embody our shared dreams,” she added. “They are pivotal to shaping a better world.”

The “Maria Manetti Shrem Arts Renaissance” recognizes the $43 million in total she has contributed to the university.