Marjorie Barrick

Marjorie Ann Jacobson was born in Iowa in 1917.[1] She was the only child of the town mayor and high school principal.

In 1933 Barrick won an eight-state piano championship. She turned down the scholarship attached to the so she could study economics at Creighton University in Omaha. She graduated from Creighton University in 1940 with a bachelor's degree in business administration.[2]

She married Edward Barrick in 1947. They moved to Las Vegas in 1951[2] where Edward became a real estate developer and was part owner of the Flamingo, Horseshoe, Pioneer and Fremont casinos.[2][3] Ms. Barrick took classes at what was then Nevada Southern University, later to become the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

She was a founding member of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Foundation Board of Trustees. She was engaged with multiple community organizations, including the Nevada Ballet Theatre. She spent a few days a week volunteering at St. Rose de Lima Hospital in Henderson and founded a home for handicapped and neglected children.

Following her husband's death in 1979,[1][2] Barrick founded, in his name, the Barrick Lecture Series at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with an endowment of over $1.2 million in 1980.[3][1][4] The free public lecture series attracts some of the top names and thinkers of the day.[3] She also founded the Barrick Graduate Fellowship, Barrick Faculty Development and Travel Fund, and the Barrick Research Scholars Fund.[2] Barrick also endowed The Barrick Scholar Awards to recognize faculty members of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas who have established a record of distinguished research or have demonstrated excellence in the area of creative activity.[5]

In 1989 the university renamed its museum of natural history Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History in honor of Ms. Barrick.[4][3] In 2017 it renamed the museum Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art.[6]