When Lincoln University opened its state-of-the art $23 million International Cultural Center in November, the small liberal arts college reached another milestone in its sweeping modernization program aimed at boosting its appeal to students in an increasingly competitive higher education environment. To say Lincoln, a small, quasi-private historically Black college, is on a roll might be an understatement. The good fortune is the result of tough choices, trade-offs, program and operational changes and the constant reminder of competition in the neighborhood. While very much a private institution, the physical remake of Lincoln is propelled by an infusion of millions in public funds, the product of a quid pro quo deal the school struck in 2003 with Governor Edward Rendell and former state Attorney General Mike Fisher. At issue was "control" of the Barnes Foundation, an arboretum and prized collection of thousands of pieces of art including works by Cezanne, Renoir, Matisse and others. In Lincoln's makeover, the university launched a new Lincoln-Barnes Visual Arts major with nine students in 2007. The program is run through one of the school's new Centers of Excellence. The new major "prepares students for versatile and cutting-edge careers in museums and collections studies, museum education and museum communications," the school says.