News
Message from the Dean
Change … a scary word that brings fear and trembling to academics. As much as we want to believe we are progressive, forward thinkers, and as much as we talk about “leading the pack” or being “cutting edge,” we tend to be relatively conservative. Some of this trepidation is rational and logical—over time we’ve developed educational systems that are effective and the success of our graduates is a testament to this. We do what we do very well. However, if we are to continue to train the best, we must constantly look at new and better ways to educate students across our disciplines. This goes well beyond technology advancements, the area that we most associate with “change.”
When our writer/editor, Amy Milgrub Marshall, sent me her original thoughts on the proposed content of this newsletter, many of the topics and articles were about the “old and the new”—the change that is inevitable in universities, whether it’s new programs, new structures, new appointments, people retiring or buildings being demolished. One of the exhilarating aspects of Penn State, this college in particular, is that we’ve generally conquered the anxiety of facing the future. This doesn’t mean there aren’t some sleepless nights as we contemplate a major new initiative, but we don’t let that queasiness run our lives, or overshadow our sensibilities of directions we should be taking. Change has become an inevitable part of our future and strategic thinking.
By the time you read this, we’ll have completed the dedication of the Stuckeman Family Building for the School Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Not only did SALA move, but Engineering Units D and E, where the school was formerly located, have been demolished. All that’s left are the foundation walls, which will serve as part of the seating in the relocated Foundry Park. Talk about transition and change!
Through the incredible generosity of architecture alumnus Cal Stuckeman and his late wife, Eleanor, we are in this marvelous new home for SALA—one of the true signature buildings on this great campus. Thanks to the financial support of the Stuckemans and scores of others—who all believed in the need for this structure—we are poised to lead architecture and landscape architecture education in new directions. Many of us are saddened to see the previous home taken down, but enthusiastically accept the necessity to move forward.
Our college has gone through more than physical changes, with the retirement or departure of several administrators and faculty members. As the door closes behind Associate Dean Ed Williams, who retired to Sarasota, and Richard Green, new head of music at Miami University of Ohio, it swings open to welcome Gunalan Nadarajan, who is charged with invigorating our research profile, and Sue Haug, new director of the School of Music. Both were the first choice of the respective search committees and we are so fortunate to have them join the Penn State family. Likewise, we welcome Keith Bailey, who will serve as director of our new Institute for e-Learning and Research in the Arts and Design. Keith has hit his stride quickly with searches for two instructional designers already underway.
In this issue we also celebrate the departure to the “good life” of Jerry Lang, who developed our digital photography program into one of the finest in the country. Jerry will remain active with the program’s industry advisory board and his own photography, along with his talented partner and wife, Jennifer.
At the curricular level, a number of major changes are in the works or underway. You’ll read here about the new Core Curriculum, a required 12 credits for all first-year students in the design and visual arts majors intended to provide them with a broader understanding of those disciplines. Peter Aeschbacher is leading this initiative that should set us apart from many of our peers. We are also working on a new major in Digital Arts Design and Fabrication, to be rolled out in the coming months.
In our effort to find new and better ways to educate our students, we continue to focus on expanding international opportunities, through performance tours, research projects and other activities. Two musical groups that performed internationally in recent months are Essence of Joy, whose South African tour was led by Tony Leach, and the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, whose trip to Italy was led by Dennis Glocke. Tony and Dennis, along with several other colleagues, have embraced this expansion of opportunities abroad for our students and I’m delighted at the critical success of these ventures.
So is our college embracing change? You bet. Are we working hard and experiencing fear, excitement, upset stomachs, euphoria … ? Yes, of course. But ask the students and faculty about the end result—I think they’ll say change, in whatever form, is worth it.
Keep in touch—I enjoy hearing from you!
Engineering Units Live On
Engineering Units D and E are gone, but not forgotten. As part of an effort to establish a Building Recycling and Re-Use Initiative within the Penn State Center for Sustainability, a group of faculty and students from the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture harvested doors, windows, flooring and other building materials from the structures before their demolition in July 2005. SALA had studios and offices in Engineering Units D and E for more than 30 years prior to moving into the new Stuckeman Family Building in June 2005.
The harvested materials are being used for instructional purposes and for student design-build exercises, in addition to being made available to non-profit organizations and to alumni for use in fund-raising efforts. The foundations of Units D and E will serve as seating in the relocated Foundry Park.
The Engineering Units, built between 1912 and 1920, were conceived as an applied learning initiative. In 1912, Penn State faced a major cut in appropriations from the state legislature. In response, the students and faculty of the College of Engineering assumed the responsibility of designing and administering the construction of their own expanded facilities, making the Engineering Units historic examples of applied and active learning at Penn State.
According to James Kalsbeek, associate professor of architecture and coordinator of the reclamation and salvage effort, the harvest of building materials was an integral part of the demolition process, giving students and faculty the chance to address the pressing contemporary issue of sustainability. He says the demolition of the buildings, like their design and construction 93 years ago, provided another unique opportunity for learning, in which students and faculty actively participated with the intent of serving the student body, the University and the community.
Gray Honored as Alumni Fellow
Rick Gray (’79 M.F.A. Theatre) was named the College of Arts and Architecture’s 2005 Alumni Fellow. Gray is the director of entertainment project development for Wynn Design and Development and general manager of entertainment operations for Wynn Las Vegas, the newest Las Vegas resort by Stephen A. Wynn, who is also responsible for the Mirage, Treasure Island and Bellagio. Gray manages the development, design, opening and operation of theatres at Wynn Las Vegas and oversees the mounting of shows, including working with the artistic designers to carry out their ideas.
Steve Wynn himself recruited Gray in 2001 while Gray was working as director of entertainment production for Disneyland Park and Disney’s California Adventure. Gray had joined the Walt Disney Company in 1999, after serving as associate professor and production coordinator for the School of Theatre at Penn State. He previously was associate professor of design/technology at the State University of New York at Purchase.
In 1997, as Cirque du Soleil’s project manager for theatre construction, Gray opened the “O” Theatre at the Bellagio resort, the first-ever aquatic theatre in Las Vegas. His work on that theatre earned him a Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement in a Live Production, the themed entertainment industry’s equivalent of an Academy Award. Most recently, Gray oversaw the construction of two theatres at Wynn Las Vegas: the Wynn Theatre, where a new Franco Dragone show (Le Reve) is presented, and a second theatre for the Las Vegas production of the Tony Award-winning Avenue Q.
Gray and his wife, Tracy Sherritt Gray, have two daughters, Abby and Zan.
