Tag Archives: Lorne Buchman

Surdna Foundation Grant to Build Teen Art Park

Art Center has been awarded $75,000 by the Surdna Foundation in support of a transdisciplinary Designmatters studio in which students will create a design for a Teen Art Park for underserved youth in Pasadena and Altadena. The park is a project launched by the Flintridge Center in collaboration with a number of community partners, including Art Center.

“We are grateful for this generous gift from the Surdna Foundation,” says Art Center President Lorne Buchman. “The foundation has been a wonderful supporter of the College, and previously awarded grants in support of our Public Programs.”

The two-part  studio, held in conjunction with the Flintridge Center, will take place next year over Spring and Summer terms, and will be led by Environmental Design Chair David Mocarski and core faculty member James Meraz. The studio, made up of 16 Art Center students from all disciplines, will work with as many as 150 youth from these underserved areas to create the design for the park.

Art Center Visioning Update from President Buchman

Dear Art Center Community:

I am writing to update you on Art Center’s planning process and to outline the next steps to completion. As many of you know, we designed the entire process to consist of two major phases of work: the visioning phase and the strategic planning phase. The midpoint and fulcrum of the process took form by way of a retreat of the Board of Trustees (on June 23 and 24) in which the Trustees heard the work completed by the visioning task force committees to date, focused their priorities and set the course for the final strategic phase to be concluded by the end of the calendar year.

Art Center students, alumni, faculty and staff convened for visioning brainstorming sessions in January.

The Board, I believe, was energized by what they heard and were compelled by the fact that hundreds of participants representing a cross-section of the community were involved at various points in the deliberations. They were engaged during the retreat in a thoughtful and rewarding dialogue that included the chairs of the visioning task force committees as well as representatives from the Chairs’ Council, Faculty Council, Art Center Student Government (ACSG) and senior staff. The effort was inclusive and courageous.

The work of the retreat coalesced the findings of the task force committees into a cogent statement of educational purpose, a statement serving at once as a tribute to the heritage of the College as well as to a dynamic vision for the future.

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Taking Action Through a Day of Service

On Saturday, June 12, Art Center students, staff and faculty participated in the College’s first Art Center Takes Action: A Day of Service in Pasadena, a volunteer initiative launched in celebration of Art Center’s 80th anniversary.

The day of service kicked off Saturday morning with a breakfast with College President Lorne Buchman and representatives from participating organizations. Sponsors Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market and Autunno Catering provided breakfast for volunteers.

“Art Center Takes Action is the first in what I hope will become a long-standing College tradition of providing service to those in need,” Buchman said at the breakfast.

“When the Art Center community comes together to participate in volunteer initiatives such as this, we help elevate Art Center’s reputation not only as a good neighbor, but as a meaningful place to pursue an art and design education.”

Volunteers visited with the residents at the Villa Gardens Retirement Community, helped beautify and paint the The Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena, collected trash at the Rose Bowl, and acquired goods and donations for the AIDS Service Center.

“Pasadena is a city with a lot of need,” said Ben Sanders, a third-term Illustration major who spent the day volunteering at Villa Gardens, a retirement community that 200 residents call home. “It’s a great idea for Art Center to make its presence known in the community. Not by showing what we as artists and designers have made, but by simply showing people we’re here and we care.”

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Take Action: Volunteer

This Saturday Art Center students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends will come together for Art Center Takes Action: A Day of Service in Pasadena, a volunteer initiative launched in celebration of Art Center’s 80th anniversary.

“We strive to provide opportunities for our students to get the most out of their educational experience both inside and outside the classroom,” explains Dean of Students Jeffrey Hoffman. “Art Center’s Day of Service will provide such an opportunity for students from diverse backgrounds to build relationships with their local community—a place they call home.”

The local organizations that Art Center volunteers will engage with include AIDS Service Center, which develops and delivers services, advocacy and education tailored to improve the quality of life for those impacted by and at risk for HIV/AIDS; Boys and Girls Club of Pasadena, whose goal is to improve the lives of children by helping them build self-assurance and develop leadership skills while reinforcing positive values; the Rose Bowl Operating Company, which manages Pasadena’s historic stadium and professional quality golf course; and Villa Gardens Retirement Community, one of the City’s premier retirement communities offering residents opportunities both stimulating and relaxing.

The day of service will kick off at 8 am Saturday, June 12, with a breakfast with College President Buchman and representatives from participating organizations.

It’s not too late to join us. To sign up or for more information, contact Betsy Edmunds in the Center for the Student Experience at cse@artcenter.edu or stop by the CSE. Also be sure to check the The Dotted Line next week for coverage and photos of the event.

Art Center Inaugurates Fifth President

President Buchman

“Come Art Center—meet your own demand,” Dr. Lorne Buchman urged the crowd assembled for his inauguration at Hillside Campus. “Let us bring to our future the very fortitude we exact from those we educate. Some of the same magic that for 80 years, brought to life those gods of design, art and human expression. It’s a mammoth but vital task. We know how to do this—it’s in our DNA. Conjure and imagine things that don’t yet exist. Designers, design your school.”

On Thursday, April 22, Art Center ushered in a new era as it inaugurated Buchman, its fifth president and chief executive officer. Named president last year after a nationwide 10-month search, Buchman is the former provost and president of Oakland’s California College of Arts and Crafts. Most recently, Buchman served as President of Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center. A trained theater director and scholar, he has held a number of faculty and administrative positions at the University of California, Berkeley.

Graduate Media Design Department Chair Anne Burdick, who served as Department Chair’s representative on the Presidential Search Committee, said that while many leaders in the art and design world were interviewed for the position, just one candidate was both a team builder and a change agent. “Only Lorne had that precise combination of empathy and chutzpah,” she told the audience.

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What a Week!

Happy Monday, Art Center! It’s going to be a busy week, hope you’re rested and ready for:

  • Wednesday, April 21, 6 pm: 4 Hours Solid (South Campus)
  • Thursday, April 22, 5 pm: Graduation Show Preview (invitation only)
  • Thursday, April 22, 8 pm: Inauguration of Art Center President Lorne Buchman (Hillside Campus)
  • Thursday, April 22, 9 pm: Alumni Welcome Reception (invitation only)
  • Saturday, April 24, 2:30 pm: Faculty Reception (faculty, special guests and College leadership)
  • Saturday, April 24, 4 pm: Spring Term Graduation (webcast details announced soon)
  • Saturday, April 24, 4 pm: 2010 MFA Open Studios (South Campus)
  • Saturday, April 24, 6 pm: Graduation Show

It’s going to be a jam-packed week. Don’t worry—there’s still time to sneak in a nap before the fun begins!

Envisioning the Next 80 Years

The Pasadena Star-News ran a nice piece on Art Center and our upcoming 80th anniversary over the weekend. Art Center President Lorne Buchman and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Bob Davidson discussed their vision and plans for Art Center’s future in the article, which ran Saturday.

Janette Williams writes: “President Lorne M. Buchman, who will be inaugurated April 22, and Robert C. Davidson Jr., the first African-American chairman of the college’s board of trustees, agree: There will be a renewed focus on students, faculty, curriculum and scholarships, and on building diversity at every level as the college looks toward the next 80 years.”

Read more: Everything old new again as Art Center College marks its 80th anniversary

Davidson Elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees

Art Center’s Board of Trustees announced today that Robert C. Davidson Jr. has been elected board chairman. His appointment continues a new era of leadership at the College, following the announcement of a Lorne Buchman as president last October.

Davidson is the first African-American to serve as board chairman at Art Center, and among the first African-Americans to assume board leadership of a member institution within the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. He has served on Art Center’s Board of Trustees since 2004.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be asked to serve as board chairman for an institution as distinguished as Art Center,” Davidson says. “As the College celebrates its 80th anniversary, it is with a sense of excitement and renewed commitment that we will partner with Buchman to help Art Center achieve new levels of greatness.”

Read the full press release here (PDF format).