MIAMI, FLA.- Pérez Art Museum Miami has received a $100,000 gift from American Airlines on behalf of John S. & James L. Knight Foundation Chairman and CEO Alberto Ibargüen. Ibargüen recently stepped down from the Board of Directors at American after 11 years, where he played a vital role in the merger between American and US Airways, enabling the airline to become the largest in the world. In appreciation of his dedicated service, American donated $100,000 in Ibargüen’s name to a charity of his choice. Ibargüen chose Pérez Art Museum Miami in honor of his wife Susana, who has been a devoted Trustee of the museum for over 20 years. Susana was President of the Board of Trustees from 2001 to 2003, and has also served as Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee and on the Programs Committee.

“Culture is central to building community and Pérez Art Museum Miami is a shining example of that. It is at the center of our community’s evolution in all arts and has become one of the most visited places in South Florida,” said Alberto Ibargüen, Chairman and CEO of the John S. & James L. Knight Foundation. “Susana and I are enormously proud of the work we’ve done to support PAMM and of the museum’s achievements. We are thrilled that American Airlines has decided to recognize this with their grant to the museum’s endowment fund.”

The Ibargüens’ have shown an unwavering commitment to the museum. In 2013, along with Jorge M. Pérez, Alberto initiated PAMM’s Fund for African American Art through the Knight Foundation with a $1 million donation, and has continued to support the museum’s Fund since. The Fund allows the museum to purchase contemporary art by African American artists for its permanent collection. Ibargüen has also played a vital role in growing PAMM’s education department, which is the largest of its kind in Miami, outside the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system. Susana and Alberto will be honored at PAMM’s Art of the Party on March 7, the museum’s biggest fundraising event of the year.

“As the figure who has most vociferously supported art and culture and the recognition of its power to bring people together in Miami, I had the pleasure of meeting Alberto before coming to the museum. But to begin my tenure as director working with Susana as a Trustee has been a remarkable experience,” said Pérez Art Museum Miami Director Franklin Sirmans. “Susana’s quick wit and humor amidst difficult discussions and her guidance on both the Nominating and Governance and the Programs Committees has been vital to the museum since I arrived. We are thankful to the hometown airline in their recognition of our dear friends, the Ibargüens.”

American Airlines also has a longstanding relationship with the Miami community. American is Miami’s hometown airline, with more than 13,500 team members operating more than 340 flights a day to nearly 130 destinations. Since establishing its hub in Miami in 1989, American has invested heavily in the community, with team members dedicating more than 30,000 volunteer hours.