Meet Nicholas and Jenny Taubman

Jenny Taubman chaired the new art museum’s fundraising campaign in the early years of the project. Her biggest success as a fundraiser turned out to be with her own husband, Nicholas Taubman.

“It became necessary for someone to come up with additional funds to make this happen,” Jenny Taubman said. “It just so happened it was us. Because I couldn’t get anybody else to give it except for Nick.”

Nicholas Taubman is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Advance Auto Parts, the only Fortune 500 company located in the Roanoke Valley.

Jenny Taubman was born in Bulgaria and served in the Israeli army before becoming a U.S. citizen in 1966. She served as chairwoman of the museum’s capital gifts committee, then as co-chairwoman after moving with her husband in late 2005 to Romania, where he serves as the U.S. ambassador.

The Taubmans have donated at least $15 million to the $66 million museum project, the museum has confirmed. The New York Times reported last December that the Taubmans’ gift was $25 million, but the museum has never verified that.

Either way, the Taubmans are the largest donor to the project. The museum is named for them.

“I think the museum will be a hinge on which the economic future of downtown Roanoke will swing, as well as the region,” Nicholas Taubman told the New York Times. “It’s just the right thing in the right place.”

The Taubmans are expected in Roanoke for the museum opening on Nov. 8.