In February 2000, the WSU dance department was renamed the Maggie Allesee Department of Dance after a generous gift of $2 million from Allesee, a longtime Metro Detroit dance and cultural arts advocate and philanthropist. Guests at the Fifth Annual Spring Gala dinner, held at The Whitney, enjoyed a full evening of cocktails and elaborate meals. Following the dinner party, a concert \"Dancing the Legacy\" was held at Wayne State\'s Bonstelle Theatre. Allesee\'s gift is the largest of its kind to any university dance program in the country and created the first individually named department at WSU.