“When I was a young girl attending Herron’s Saturday School program, my father used to take me downtown to buy art supplies,” she shared. “Later in high school, we would visit exhibitions at the old Indianapolis Museum of Art when it was located on Herron’s former campus at 16th and Pennsylvania streets.”
Creative expression, artistic exploration and scholarly pursuits are hallmarks of civilization. That is why Herron School of Art and Design continues to thrive. Philanthropy fuels innovation here. During IUPUI’s IMPACT Campaign, student support is high on the list of the school’s fundraising priorities.
Herron alumnus Don Gummer installs new work, waxes nostalgic and speaks of philanthropy
“My name’s Don Gummer. I’m 64. I went to Herron from Ben Davis High School from 1964 to 1966. Then to Boston Museum School and then to Yale and from there to New York City to live and work as an artist. And here I am back at Herron,” said the prominent sculptor during a recent visit.
Seared in my memory
Dean Valerie Eickmeier announced that thanks to the tremendous support of dedicated alumni, friends, parents and faculty, Herron is 85 percent of the way to its $8.5 million fundraising goal as a part of the IUPUI IMPACT Campaign. The campaign, which kicked off its public phase in 2010, continues through June 30, 2013.
“These donors are helping us to protect and expand what we have built,” said Dean Eickmeier. “They recognize that we can’t count on state funding or a rapid economic recovery to fuel continued academic excellence.”
Imagine waking up at 6:00 a.m. after being up all night studying or working one of many jobs. You rush to school an hour early just to find a parking spot. Your days are filled with class after class. At night, you can look forward to studying, more work and maybe some laundry or cleaning.
Add the tasks of three 12-page papers, quizzes, five midterms, homework assignments and hundreds of pages of reading a week on top of working 40 hours plus per week. All the while, you still try to maintain a normal family and social life. Every day you keep telling yourself “only one more year.”
How does a 110-year old school continue to position itself as a thriving, well-respected organization of national acclaim? Several factors come into play— strong mission, quality academic and outreach programs and talented staff, faculty and volunteers. Also, critical to maintaining a distinguished reputation are the donors who invest in the organization. Herron School of Art and Design proudly recognizes those individuals who keep the school thriving through planned (deferred) gifts made through their estate plans.
For the sixth year in a row, The Great Frame Up will be the parking sponsor at Herron. Their generosity allows Herron to reserve the surface lot immediately west of Eskenazi Hall for evening gallery openings. The sponsorship also covers the parking costs of gallery visitors who park in the Sports Complex Garage any time.
“At a time when parking rates are increasing throughout our community, we are extremely grateful for the Westphals’ continued support,” said Kim Hodges, Herron’s Director of Development.
Students were an important part of Doris’s life. After graduating from the John Herron School of Art in the 1950s, she taught in the Indianapolis Public Schools and Broad Ripple High School. She touched many lives through her career as a teacher and an artist.
Doris’s evocative work often merges landscape with the human form, drawing the viewer into its mystery. Doris shared, “I work with a variety of media and subject matter utilizing the one which enables me to express an idea most effectively. The majesty of nature often provides inspiration.”
But who was Mildred Darby Menz? And why did she establish this award so many years ago? Here’s what we know:
• Mildred Darby Menz established a living trust with a local bank in 1943.
• She instructed that at her death 1/6th of the corpus (about $10,000 plus the income from that amount) be given to the Art Association of Indianapolis, which at the time administered the John Herron Art Institute, to establish a named fund to benefit Herron graduates.
Ed’s career with Eli Lilly and Company, serving as vice president of Lilly International and vice president of Elanco Animal Health, exposed Dottie and their three children to the world.
