The C. Louis and Mary C. Cabe Foundation is contributing $250,000 to support the naming of a flexible studio space/classroom at the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation at the University of Arkansas.

This gift provides support to the center by naming the 2,231-square-foot flexible studio space/classroom on the second floor the C. Louis and Mary C. Cabe Foundation Memorial Studio and Classroom In Memory of Horace C. Cabe, C. Louis Cabe and Harold H. Cabe.

“We wanted to support the Anthony Timberlands Center in order to provide a facility to encourage design professionals,” Anita Cabe said. “It was important to us to honor the memory of Horace C. Cabe, C. Louis Cabe and Harold H. Cabe because they were so instrumental in the timber industry in Southeast Arkansas. This felt like a wonderful way to honor their legacy.”

The Anthony Timberlands Center will serve as home to the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design’s graduate program in timber and wood and as an epicenter for its multiple timber and wood initiatives. This education and research center will focus on excellence in wood design, materials innovation, and product diversification to expand the use of wood in design, manufacturing and construction. It will house the school’s existing design-build program and an expanded digital fabrication laboratory. The school is a leading advocate for innovation in timber and wood design. 

Located in the university’s Art and Design District, the four-story, 44,800-square-foot center also will include studios, seminar and conference rooms, faculty offices, a small auditorium and a public exhibition space. The construction of the center began in September, with an anticipated completion date of fall 2024.

“The Anthony Timberlands Center represents in many ways the importance and legacy of the great Arkansas timberlands families, as well as the forested regions of the state,” said Peter MacKeith, dean of the Fay Jones School. “This gift from the Cabe Foundation, and the named studio it enables, superbly emphasizes those representational ambitions. We are deeply grateful to the Cabe Foundation for their vision, commitment and support.” 

The C. Louis and Mary C. Cabe Foundation, which focuses its grant activity primarily in Arkansas, was founded by Charles Louis Cabe Sr. and Mary Charlotte Cabe. 

Charles Louis Cabe Jr. was the president of Cabe Land and Timber in Gurdon, where he lived his entire life until his death in 2017. He and his wife of 50 years, Anita Boyce Cabe, have one son, Clay Cabe. 

Anita Cabe serves on the board of the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation in Harrison and on the board of the Muses Project in Hot Springs. She also served on the Campaign Arkansas Steering Committee for Garvan Woodland Gardens. 

Her late husband served as president of the C. Louis and Mary C. Cabe Foundation and was a member of the Horace C. Cabe Foundation Board. He also served on the boards of First State Bank of Gurdon, Bodcaw Bank of Stamps, Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute, and the Sheriffs’ Youth Ranch.

The C. Louis and Mary C. Cabe Foundation also supported the new Charles and Anita Cabe Student-Athlete Success Center at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, where the couple met and got engaged in the 1960s. 

Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design: The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas houses undergraduate professional design programs of architecture, landscape architecture and interior architecture and design together with a liberal studies program. The school also offers a Master of Design Studies, with concentrations in health and wellness design, resiliency design, integrated wood design, and retail and hospitality design. The DesignIntelligence 2019 School Rankings Survey listed the school among the most hired from architecture, landscape architecture and interior design schools, ranking 10th, 14th and eighth, respectively, as well as 28th among most admired architecture schools.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.