Finding Form Art at Saint Mary's
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Summer 2007 . Finding Form Art at Saint Mary’s Your gift to the Annual Fund creates. Your gift could help a young woman... who has always dreamed in color... attend Saint Mary’s... where she will learn theories and techniques… and study the ideas and events… that have inspired expression through the ages… ideas that will change her perspective… and give her the power… to change the perspective of others. The Annual Fund A Larger Canvas Gifts to the Annual Fund help provide fifinancial nancial aidaid andand scholarshipsscholarships toto SaintSaint Mary’sMary's students.students. NineNine out out of ten Saint Mary’sMary's studentsstudents receivereceive somesome kindkind ofof fifinancial nancial assistance.assistance. YourYour contribution,contribution, largelarge oror small, small, makes a difference! Please support the Annual Fund by making a gift onlineonline atat www.saintmarys.eduwww.saintmarys.edu oror byby callingcalling (800)(800) SMC-8871.SMC-8871. tableof contents Volume 82, Number 2 Summer 2007 FEATURES Courier (USPS 135-340) is published four times a year by Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN 46556-5001. 4 From Inspiration Periodicals postage paid at the Post Offi ce at Notre Dame, IN 46556 to Installation and at additional mailing offi ces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes by Scot Erin Briggs to Alumnae Relations, Saint Mary’s College, 110 Le Mans Hall, Notre The fourth in a six-part series on the Dame, IN 46556-5001. College’s nationally accredited programs. Copyright 2007 Saint Mary’s College, Page 4 Notre Dame, IN 46556. Reproduction in whole or part is 10 The Artist’s Way prohibited without written permission. by Elizabeth Station The opinions expressed are those of the authors or their subjects and are Members of the Class of 2000 are making not necessarily shared by the College a life, and a living, in art. or the editor. Shari Rodriguez Vice President for College Relations 12 Master and Mentor [email protected] by Elizabeth Station Courier Staff: Scot Erin Briggs Art professor Billy Ray Sandusky shares Editor a painting project with students. [email protected] Page 8 Elizabeth Station 34 Portrait of the Artist Senior Writer Joya Helmuth as a Volunteer Graphic Designer by Julie E. McGranahan ’04 Photos by This art major shares her “unlikely, unique, Matt Cashore Ellen Dimino ’02 and exciting” way to use an art degree. Kelly Higgins ’08 Letters: Send letters to the editor to: 36 Commencement 2007 Courier Editor Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Saint Mary’s College 303 Haggar College Center talked to graduates about The Constitution, Notre Dame, IN 46556 and their own constitution. Page 12 or e-mail [email protected] Class News: Send alumnae class news to: Alumnae News Editor 110 Le Mans Hall Saint Mary’s College Departments Notre Dame, IN 46556-5001 or e-mail [email protected] 2 Inside Saint Mary’s Alumnae Association Staff: Barbara Butler Henry ’85 3 Letters to the editor Director of Alumnae Relations [email protected] 7 Avenue news Michelle Poeppe Egan ’93 Assistant Director of Alumnae Relations 14 For the record [email protected] 16 Club news The Mission Saint Mary’s College is a Catholic, On the cover: residential, women’s college in the 18 Class news liberal arts tradition. A pioneer in the Leslie Lau ‘09 works with charcoal in Drawing I, education of women, the College is an 20 Excelsior academic community where women a broad foundation course. Within the art department, develop their talents and prepare to students work with a vibrant group of full-time faculty 32 Development news make a difference in the world. Founded by the Sisters of the Holy including Julie Tourtillotte, a fi bers artist; Marcia Rickard, an 44 Belles athletics Cross in 1844, Saint Mary’s promotes a life of intellectual vigor, aesthetic art historian; Krista Hoefl e, who explores design, video, and appreciation, religious sensibility, and digital media; Billy Ray Sandusky, a painter and printmaker; social responsibility. All members of the College remain faithful to this Doug Tyler, who teaches photography and new media; and mission and continually assess their Sandra Ginter, a ceramicist and sculptor. response to the complex needs and challenges of the contemporary world. Photo by Matt Cashore insidesaint mary’s Endless Possibilities By Julie Tourtillotte As one of the fi rst majors offered at the College, the art department has a long, rich history. The excellence of the program garnered the accreditation of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) beginning in 1974 and continuing today. Our alumnae certainly will remember some of the more rigorous requirements for the art major: semester portfolio reviews, the Advanced “W” and, of course, the senior comprehensive. The “comp” is easily the most challenging and rewarding experience for our students. It demands their best artwork in terms of form and concept and refi nes their research, communication, and presentation skills. And, as many of our graduates have confi rmed, this hallmark requirement of our program prepares them well for future success in graduate schools and their careers. Art alumnae will be proud to know that the art department has continued our commitment to a fi ne arts curriculum while expanding the courses we offer in digital/new media to include digital photography, video, beyond object and special topic courses in installation/video, the Web, and cyberfeminism. As we move forward in the 21st century, we have embraced new technologies while maintaining strength in traditional areas of painting, sculpture, ceramics, and fi bers. We believe that today’s successful artist requires fl exibility and experience in multiple art disciplines and the support of a strong, core liberal arts education. The art faculty is proudest of our students, both current and former. We love to celebrate the achievements of our alumnae and the diversity of our “art family” that includes K–12 teachers, college professors, museum curators and educators, graphic designers, medical illustrators, product designers, arts administrators, photographers, interior designers, gallerists, illustrators, studio artists, art directors, advertising executives, software trainers, Web designers, fashion designers, art therapists, event planners, muralists, business owners, book designers, buyers, marketers, consultants, and the list goes on. The possibilities prove endless with a Saint Mary’s art degree. Julie Wroblewski Tourtillotte ’82 is a Professor of Art and Chair of the Art Department. 2 COURIER | Summer 2007 lettersto the editor Dear Editor, Dear Editor, Thank you for the Spring 2007 My daughter is a junior at Saint Mary’s, a pre-med wonderful spring Courier student who has remained, since day one, happy about her focusing on science at Saint college choice. We both recently attended the Junior Moms’ Mary’s. I enjoyed reading Weekend, including a Saturday morning breakfast featuring how far science graduates President Carol Ann Mooney as the main speaker. We were have come and where future greeted at every turn by members of the development and graduates are heading. As alumnae department, and many of us assumed that we a 1999 biology BS graduate would be asked for a fi nancial commitment. I feel that Saint Mary’s Wom The President gave an excellent speech. Naturally she En + Scie ce = GreA he prepared me for my career n t C misTry talked about a vision for Saint Mary’s; one would expect that. in academic medicine A vision is a fun thing to craft, and not always implemented. and allowed me to have But she supported the vision by talking about what has confi dence in my abilities. actually been done, including, not just over the course It was wonderful to read of the rich history of Saint Mary’s College, but also its that so many young remarkable and current achievements that could only have women are choosing science as their been accomplished by strategic mapping. We mothers were course of study. Times are changing and impressed and hoped our daughters were listening intently. I am pleased to see that Saint Mary’s is contributing to This is your alma mater…be proud! the scientifi c forefront! Still, I expected the pitch for gifts, or a fi nancial Nicole Kraimer Strieter ’99, MSN, APRN-BC commitment to the College. And indeed we were asked to Boston, Mass. make a contribution, but not fi nancial. She asked all of us to be proud of Saint Mary’s, and, if we were, then to broadcast that pride far and wide. Every college needs fi nancial gifts to survive; but they also need student enrollment. With that, I Dear Editor, was further impressed. What a thrill to see almost an entire Courier issue devoted The career hats I have worn include high-end fundraising to the sciences at Saint Mary’s, specifi cally chemistry. for non-profi ts. In-kind gifts (and for colleges, student Although I majored in biology (BS, 1980), I still have fond enrollment) are important…but the reality remains it takes memories of Drs. Bambenek, Pilger, and Feigl. Qualitative, money to build programs, departments, and thus credibility quantitative chemistry, biochemistry, and organic and reputation. My Saint Mary’s canvas bag goes with me chemistry —the hours, the labs, the equations, the test tubes! everywhere and gives me that opportunity to talk about But more importantly, the ability to walk into their respective this fi ne college, far and wide. But Saint Mary’s is also in offi ces for further explanation or a friendly chat. You cannot my will. While we saved for our children’s education, we get that personal attention at just any college. could not have afforded the tuition that has allowed our In the “old days” (1976–1980), there was no “new” Science daughter to attend this special place.