A recent bequest of more than $1.8 million from the estate of the late Rebecca Randall Bryan of Conway is the largest single cash gift ever made to Coastal Carolina University.

In her will, Bryan directed that Coastal receive a significant portion of her estate for building projects relating to the university's humanities programs. The art gallery in the soon-to-open Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts Building will be named in Bryan's honor. A future extension of Coastal's library also will be named in honor of the Bryan family.

The Rebecca Randall Bryan Art Gallery will be officially dedicated Sept. 20 following Coastal's annual Founders' Day Convocation. The formal dedication of the Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts Building will be held Sept. 21.

Bryan, who died Sept. 25, 1999, was a longtime friend and supporter of Coastal. An avid painter, she was devoted to the arts and attended many classes offered through Coastal's Division of Extended Learning and Public Services. Bryan traveled to Oxford University in England as part of a travel-study program offered through Coastal's Office of International Programs. She also donated more than 200 books from her personal library to Coastal's Kimbel Library.

Bryan was employed by Conway National Bank for 30 years. She was a charter member of the Horry County Historical Society and bequeathed her home in Conway to the organization.

Coastal's total endowment is valued at more than $12 million. The endowment is administered by the Coastal Educational Foundation, Inc., an eleemosynary organization charged with raising private funds for the support and development of the university, including scholarships and stipends, property, equipment and other matters relating to higher education.