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Of note at the College

Of note

1  Theatre & Music: In memoriam

Richard Wang, Associate Professor Emeritus of Music, was the department’s resident jazz scholar, historian, and all-around jazz authority, as well as the director of the UIC Jazz Ensemble for several decades. A native A native A of Chicago’s South Side, he was playing trumpet professionally by professionally by professionally the by the by time he was 15. His work in reconstructing Duke Ellington’s musical comedy Jump for Joy for performance by the by the by Pegasus Players brought him considerable fame. Wang received research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Illinois Arts Council. A frequent lecturer and writer on American jazz, he also served as president of the Jazz Institute of Chicago, which programs the Chicago Jazz Festival.

2  Architecture: Patrick Burkle awarded Schiff Foundation Fellowship

Patrick Burkle (MArch ’16) has received the Schiff Foundation Design Fellowship, awarded by the by the by Department of Architecture and Design at the Art Institute of Chicago. Founded in 1988 with a generous endowment from Harold Schiff, the fellowship acknowledges and supports young architects and is awarded annually to annually to annually one student from UIC, the Illinois Institute of Technology, or the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The winning student’s portfolio becomes part of the permanent collection of the Ernest R. Graham Study Center Study Center Study for Architectural Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago.

3  Theatre & Music: A classical evening with Mattia Rondelli

On November 19, 2016 supporters of the College attended Va Pensiero, a benefit concert to support the School of Theatre & Music and the Hematology/Oncology Division of UIC’s College of Medicine, held at the historic Studebaker Theater in Chicago. The evening featured renowned Italian conductor Mattia Rondelli, who led the UIC Orchestra and Symphonic Choir in a performance of operatic and choral works by Bizet, Fauré, Verdi, and Mascagni. Va Pensiero is an example of several current cross­campus collaborations that bring together the arts and sciences.

4  Art & Art History: Recent films garner attention

Margaret Byrne (BFA ’01) has received an American Film Institute AFI DOCS/ NBCUniversal Impact Grant to support the outreach and social action campaign for her documentary Raising Bertie. The film chronicles six years in the lives of Reginald “Junior” Askew, David “Bud” Perry, and Davonte “Dada” Harrell in Bertie County, North Carolina, where community leaders  work to counter local roadblocks of  systemic educational failures, split and damaged families, the specter of prison, and a dearth of decent­paying jobs. The film screened to a sold­out audience at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC.

Associate Professor Deborah Stratman’s film The Illinois Parables is a collection of midwestern parables that investigate how belief has historically influenced ideology and national identity. The Illinois Parables premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2016 and has subsequently been screened at festivals throughout the United States and Europe.

5  Art & Art History: Tom Friedman’s Looking Up by the lake

A monumental sculpture by Tom Friedman (MFA ’93) is currently on view on Chicago’s lakefront. Installed by the Chicago Park District in collaboration with the Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York, and the Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, the 33.3 ­foot work will stand at 4800 South Lake Shore Drive through September.

6  Design: Rotimi Solola at Dubai Design Week

Rotimi Solola (BDes ’15) participated in the Dubai Design Week (DDW) Global Grad Show, an exhibition of pioneering work from the world’s leading design schools. Launched in 2015, the show involves 50 universities from 30 countries. Solola exhibited his multipurpose kitchen appliance HUB — a coffee maker, kettle, blender, and mixer in one elegant, durable product — designed with component parts, for easy repair. Solola’s thesis advisor, Assistant Professor Sung Jang, also attended DDW as a presenter in a panel discussion as part of DDW’s educational programming.

7  Design: Lausen receives honors

In recognition of her scholarship, creativity, and leadership, Marcia Lausen, Director of the School of Design, has been named a UIC Distinguished Professor, the highest honor the university bestows. Lausen is the founder of the Chicago office of Studio/ lab. She has been recognized with several prestigious awards in her discipline, including the AIGA Medal, considered the highest recognition in the field.

8  Art & Art History: Lee named fellow

Lisa Yun Lee, Director of the School of Art & Art History, has been named a University of Illinois Presidential Fellow. On a part-time basis over the next year, Lee will use her fellowship to develop new programs and initiatives, as well as highlight existing efforts that emphasize the centrality of the arts, culture, and humanities at a public university. Her work will foster a creative ethos that underscores the ability of the arts to foster community engagement and create positive social change on campus and beyond.

9  College: EXPO CHICAGO

The College’s presence at the fifth annual EXPO CHICAGO in September reflected the diverse work and interests of the CADA community, exhibiting works by Christa Donner, Dianna Frid, Beate Geissler, Doug Ischar, Silvia Malagrino, Dan Peterman, Aram Han Sifuentes, Cauleen Smith, Deborah Stratman, and Tony Tasset, as well as proposals by UIC faculty and students for a design study for a new campus arts building.

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Read the full CADA Spring 2017 Newsletter online.