J. Russell Nelson, 86, the 14th president of ASU for whom the Nelson Fine Arts Center is named, died on March 23, 2016. Nelson earned his bachelor's degree in business and economics from Pacific Union College and his master’s in business administration and doctorate in finance from the University of California Los Angeles. From 1961-1970, he served as an associate professor in finance at the University of Minnesota. In 1970, Nelson became vice provost and professor in finance at the University of Colorado Boulder. During his time at the university, he was rapidly promoted — to associate provost, vice president for budgets and planning, vice president of administration, and acting chancellor. He became the chancellor in 1978. Nelson led ASU from 1981 to 1989. He saw ASU through major physical expansions, including the opening of the West campus, the addition of the fine arts center that bears his name, and the construction of Karsten Golf Course. During his tenure, ASU also acquired more than $12 million in scholarship funding and nearly $10 million in endowed faculty positions. In the early 1980s, Nelson played a major role in ASU's first comprehensive fundraising campaign. His focus and dedication helped the Centennial Campaign for ASU raise more than $114 million for the growing university. As part of the fundraising campaign, Nelson created the ASU President’s Club, an organization of donors whose gifts are used for university advancement at the discretion of the president. Joined by a handful of passionate visionaries, he began a tradition of enthusiasm and support that has built momentum through the tenures of three ASU presidents: Nelson, Lattie F. Coor and Michael Crow. Today, the President’s Club roster lists more than 500 members. As the club’s membership has grown, so has its impact, providing funding for hundreds of projects and initiatives. There is a clip of an ASURA Video History interview with Nelson recorded in 2006. Nelson was preceded in death by his wife, Bonita, in 2014. He is survived by three sons, a foster son, two foster daughters and four grandchildren.