In the Spotlight: John & Marsha Kleinheinz
“Education is the ultimate tool for social and economic mobility.”
By Mary Guthrie
No one in the Kleinheinz family sings. Or paints.
Or plays an instrument. But they are active in the
art world in a significant way.
Each year, they show their commitment to advancing
the arts through the philanthropy of their family
foundation, the Kleinheinz Family Endowment for
the Arts and Education. In fall 2012, after daughter
Marguerite Kleinheinz graduated from SMU Meadows
School of the Arts with a bachelor’s degree
in art history, the family made a gift of $1.5 million
to establish an endowed chair in the Department
of Art History at Meadows.
“We were very impressed with Marguerite’s experience
at the Meadows School and SMU,” says
Marsha (Harrison) Kleinheinz (B.B.A. ’83). “Meadows
Dean José Bowen has made great progress
during his tenure. We want to support the future of
the University that is so important to our family.”
Marguerite Kleinheinz, who moved to New York after
graduation to pursue her career and has worked at
Christie’s and WM Capital Partners, says, “I loved all
my teachers at SMU and the variety of art history
classes I took.”
The family is personally involved in institutions
their foundation supports, such as The Modern Art
Museum of Fort Worth, the Van Cliburn Foundation,
Stanford University, Fort Worth Museum of
Science and History, North Texas Public Broadcasting
and more. Marsha Kleinheinz serves on numerous
boards and fundraising committees, and says
her family’s philanthropy philosophy is simple:
Give back to the community. “We give back to the
places that gave to us,” she says.
John Kleinheinz, a Stanford University graduate,
is a successful figure in the world of global finance
and investments. He started his career as an investment
banker for Nomura Securities and Merrill
Lynch in Tokyo, New York and London. In 1996 he
established Kleinheinz Capital Partners, Inc., a private
investment management firm in Fort Worth.
He says education is the reason they’ve been able
to do so well in life.
“Education is the ultimate tool for social and
economic mobility,” says John Kleinheinz. “A great
education makes it possible for people to be in
a position where they can provide a valuable
product or service, make money or do something
fantastic.”
The gift for the endowed chair will allow Meadows
to recruit and retain outstanding professors and
continue to build the school’s reputation as having
one of the very best art history departments in
the country, according to Dean Bowen.
“The Meadows Art History Department is internationally
known for the caliber of its professors, who
are not only teachers and scholars but mentors
focused on giving students the skills to find success
in the many paths open to them through the study
of art history,” he says. “We are very grateful for
the Kleinheinz family’s generosity and leadership in
supporting these future professionals in the arts.”
The gift will make it possible for the department to
expand the specializations it offers. Current areas of
focus include art of the Americas, medieval and early
modern art, European modernism and the history of
photography. “We’ll be looking for a dynamic new
scholar who can offer students a new specialization
to which they’ve not previously been exposed,” says
Associate Professor Janis Bergman-Carton, who also
serves as the chair of the department.
“Art history students at Meadows learn about the
rich cultural heritage of people around the globe.
They come to understand how important it is to
this and future generations to preserve those art
traditions and their histories, which represent the
very best of human creativity. They can take that
knowledge with them into whatever career path
they choose, and use it to make a lasting impact
on the world around them.”
Giving to the arts can be an antidote to a sometimes-
rough world, says John Kleinheinz. “I work
in a very competitive environment,” he says. “I’m
around people all day who may be conservative or
liberal and they’re fighting; or they’re rich or poor,
educated or uneducated, admire America or don’t
like it. Art is one of those things that transcends
all that; it competes on a whole different level.”
The $1.5 million gift from the Kleinheinz Family
Endowment counts toward the $750 million goal
of SMU Unbridled: The Second Century Campaign,
which to date has raised more than $713 million
to support student quality, faculty and academic
excellence and the campus experience. The campaign
coincides with SMU’s celebration of the
100th anniversary of the University’s founding in
1911 and its opening in 1915.