In Spring 2025, the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory announced an expansion project to enhance facilities for dance, music and theatre students. The 32,000-square-foot expansion to Olson Performing Arts Center includes a performance and rehearsal space for large music ensembles, dance rehearsal rooms and support facilities and a black-box performance space.

The Ann and Gary Dickinson Family Foundation has pledged $250,000 to support the expansion project. Ann Dickinson passed away in 2024, and this gift is a continuation of a long legacy of generosity. She was a supporter of many arts and civic programs in Kansas City, including the Conservatory, Kansas City Repertory Theatre and Lyric Opera. She was a 2009 honorary chair of Crescendo, the largest annual fundraising event for the Conservatory. Ann’s legacy is carried on through the foundation and her family.

The Dickinson family supports two endowed scholarships for Conservatory students, and Paul Holewinski, Ann’s son-in-law and husband to Amy Holewinski, is a UMKC Trustee.

“This gift honors a legacy rooted in belief in the power of the arts, in our students and in the community we serve,” said Courtney Crappell, dean of the Conservatory. “It helps us grow not just in size, but in purpose."

The project is an expansion of the Conservatory’s mission as much as it is the physical space. In addition to increasing the capacity of students served, the new facilities were designed to provide new and increased benefits to the community. The new space will allow for opportunities to increase summer camps and after-school lessons by 33% and expand the Conservatory Bridges outreach program from the current capacity more than sixfold, from 80 students to 500 students.