Issue 1 / Spring 2012GIVE. INSPIRE. CREATE.

MOMENTIN THE

A N E W S L E T T E R F O R D O N O R S A N D F R I E N D S O F C O L U M B I A C O L L E G E C H I C A G O

The Planned Giving area of Institutional Ad-vancement at Columbia College Chicago is working to revitalize the Alexandroff Legacy So-ciety to provide easy access to information for Columbia’s friends and supporters regarding this important aspect of charitable giving. The Alexandroff Legacy Society welcomes our es-teemed donors who have chosen to remember Columbia College through their estate plans. Columbia’s goal in this area is to revamp com-munications to clearly share the story of the need for support to our students, many of whom are forced to leave school before gradu-ation due to great financial constraints.

Columbia’s Alexandroff Legacy Society was cre-ated to honor Mirron “Mike” Alexandroff, former President of Columbia College Chicago (1962–1992), who helped transform a strug-gling, unaccredited college with an enrollment of 175 students, 25 part-time faculty and few financial assets into the largest arts and com-munications college in the country.

Through her work with donors and prospec-tive donors, Ruby C. Schucker, Director of Planned Giving, is striving to enhance the number of planned giving commitments to the college by working closely with individuals who have the desire to provide an estate gift and would like assistance and counsel as a part of this process.

Newly designed informational materials will include direct mail pieces and a web-based presence where Columbia’s friends can easily learn more about planned giving options. While immediate gifts help Columbia’s students now, planned gifts can help ensure a bright future for all students in the years to come.

“We welcome individuals who would like to support Columbia College in this way,” Ms. Schucker said.

Some options for giving include:

** A charitable bequest through a will

** Naming Columbia as the beneficiary of a life insurance or retirement plan

** Creating a charitable gift annuity—which benefits both donor and institution through a life-long income and important tax considerations for the donor

** A charitable commitment through an irrevocable or testamentary pledge.

There is no minimum giving level tied to the Alexandroff Society and those who make a gift receive acknowledgement and benefits, including invitations to special receptions, a lifetime subscription to DEMO magazine, and recognition in Columbia College’s annual re-port. For information regarding the Alexandroff Legacy Society, please contact Ruby Schucker at 312.369.7399 or at rschucker@colum.edu.

INVIGORATING COLUMBIA’S ALEXANDROFF LEGACY SOCIETY

Gifts received through the Alexandroff Legacy Society become a part of the college’s endowment or can be designated to a specific area of interest.

WELCOME TO IN THE MOMENT, a newsletter celebrat-ing the generosity of donors and friends to Columbia College Chicago. By providing the resources for world-class education in the visual, performing, media and communication arts, Columbia College houses the greatest concentration of artists in the nation. Your gift propels the future of this artistic epicenter; thank you for your support.

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WhatJoin us for Fashion Columbia 2012! Fashion Columbia features the work of students in our Fashion Studies program and is the college’s premiere spring fundraising event. Net proceeds will benefit the newly established Eunice W. Johnson Scholarship in Fashion Studies.

WhenFriday, June 8, 2012

WhereMedia Production Center

Informationcolum.edu/fashioncolumbia

YOU ARE INVITED: FASHION COLUMBIA2012

2012Fashion Columbia

FASHION DESIGNER: SARAH PEREZ (’10) / PHOTO: JOSHUA HANES (’10) | 3

In December, 2011 Columbia College Chicago lost a talented artist and alumnus, Matt Hanner. Hanner, a stay-at-home father and artist, passed away in his home at the age of forty. His funeral service was held on Monday, December 19, 2011 in Valparaiso, Indiana. Hanner was survived by his wife, children, mother, and siblings.

In Hanner’s memory, and in recognition of his gift for art, The Matt Hanner Artistic Excellence Scholarship fund was created to memorial-ize him. Donations to the Matt Hanner Artistic Excellence Scholarship will provide future Columbia College students with an opportunity to practice their crafts and to truly excel in creating art while also honoring Matt’s memory.

A friend of Hanner, photographer Tara Bandes, said Matt was “a father, a husband, a brilliant artist, a son, a brother, a gentle and kind soul, a friend to so many. Gone too soon.” Another friend and fellow artist, James Jankowiak, said, “He made great work on a daily basis. Whether it be his photography, his drawings, installations or even a sentence…they never failed to promote a deeper look, an extra thought, they pro-moted questioning…he never gave you the answer, unless you asked him. This is where you experienced the most fascinating aspect of his being… he could talk about his work in a fluid, serious way.”

THE MATT HANNER ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE SCHOLARSHIP HONORS THE MEMORY OF MATT HANNER

Student Alumni Alliance Hosts Healthy Food Fundraiser

The Student Alumni Alliance is a student organization that bridges the gap between students and alumni. The mission of this group is to create a networking space for current students and alumni who are interested in coming back to Columbia, especially as guest speakers for group events.

Many members of the Student Alumni Alliance are scholarship recipients. The healthy food sale the group’s members sponsored was a

direct result of current students wanting to give back to the institution that is helping them achieve academic and professional success. The event was also inspired by a desire to bring more healthy foods to campus. The group provided healthy foods to students and faculty with every item costing only one dollar.

The SAA has held this fundraiser at Columbia for the past four years. Members of the Student Alumni Alliance ran the healthy food fundraiser

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Matt Hanner’s artwork is still visible on his tumblr.com page. You can visit Hanner’s artwork online at matthanner.tumblr.com

‘Whether it be his photography, his drawings, installations or even a sentence…they never failed to promote a deeper look, an extra thought, they promoted questioning.’

for a week this year. The organization’s president, Chelsea Middendorf, said “we raised $317 dollars. We are giving half to Alumni Textbook Fund and the other half to Scholarship Columbia.”

The Student Alumni Alliance got help from a new committee for this year’s fundraiser. Chelsea Middendorf said that the Young Alumni Committee volunteered to assist them with the fundraiser. This new committee’s

mission is “to keep young alumni—those who have graduated within the last 10 years—connected to their alma mater.”

This committee hopes to achieve its goals of keeping alumni connected to Columbia by finding new opportunities for alumni to network and collaborate with the college. Partnering with the Student Alumni Alliance is a positive step in that right direction.

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PHOTO: HENDRICH BLESSING PHOTOGRAPHERS / INSET: ROBERT KUSEL (BA ’78)6 |

It has been two years since construction com-pleted and the Media Production Center was unveiled. Now, this space is home to students from Columbia’s largest major, film and video, and students are taking full advantage of this incredible production space.

“We are using the Media Production Center around the clock,” Film and Video Department Chair Bruce Sheridan said. Advanced film and video students shoot in this space and cin-ematography and directing classes are held in the two available stages.

Students even come to the Media Production Center at night and on the weekend. While the building is closed on Sundays, it remains open every night until eleven weeknights and is open Saturdays.

The space allows students to shoot both on location and in a studio. This means that film and video students are able to learn how to make fake sets appear real as they balance outdoor shots with their use of a Media Pro-duction Center stage.

Not only does the presence of two stages help students, but there are a number of techno-logical advances that make the Media Produc-tion Center superior to other similar spaces

on college campuses nationwide. The MPC is equipped with a large camera, lighting, and grip supply. Students can simply walk in, take supplies, and go right to the studio. The movie stages have moveable grids, which allows for lighting that looks more realistic. Students can move the grids to mimic real angles of natural light.

One of the additions to the Media Production Center that has had the greatest effect has been the inclusion of a Production Design workshop. Bruce Sheridan explained that this is “a professional facility for designing, build-ing, and assembling studio sets, models and props. Very few film schools have such a facil-ity and we have the added benefit of ours be-ing right alongside the sound stages.”

Columbia College also tackled the difficult problem of how to show incoming film and video students advanced work in progress without those students getting in the way. The Media Production Center installed a video/au-dio station with remote control, high definition cameras that feed a signal to flat screen moni-tors outside of the movie stages. Now, instruc-tors can take first and second year students and show them how to create films without ever entering the studio or interrupting a film-ing session.

THE MEDIA PRODUCTION CENTER TWO YEARS LATER

“We are using the Media Production Center around the clock.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE FILM AND VIDEO DEPARTMENT? They are developing a means to show student work online so high school film instructors can show students what we do. Hopefully this will inspire future generations of aspiring film students to choose Columbia and its Media Production Center to develop their talents.

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The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago Wins Joyce Award For Reggie Wilson’s “(project) Moseses Project”

The Dance Center won a 2012 Joyce Award for its latest endeavor, the “(project) Mose-ses Project.” The project was inspired by Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Moses, Man of the Mountain, which retells the Moses story as a Southern folk tale in Southern African-Ameri-can vernacular. The work is progressing to look at Moses as prophet, priest, soldier, law-giver, leader, man and husband.

The Joyce Foundation defines its mission as “supporting efforts to protect the Great Lakes, to reduce poverty and violence in the region, and to ensure its residents good schools, de-cent jobs, a strong democracy, and a diverse and thriving culture.” The Joyce Awards have been one of the foundation’s many notable tools for maintaining cultural diversity in the Midwest Region.

Columbia College was one of four recipients of a 2012 Joyce Award. The Joyce Foundation created the Joyce Awards to recognize artists of color who are working to create “innovative,

thought-provoking projects.” Each award is accompanied by a grant of $50,000 from the Joyce Foundation. Winners are selected based on “artistic merit, audience engagement po-tential, and [must be] commissioned in collab-oration with an arts or cultural institution that contributes to a dynamic community engage-ment plan.” The other three winning projects are from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Cleveland, and Indianapolis.

“Artists change cities. Artists change neigh-borhoods. Artists change individuals,” ex-plained Angelique Power, The Joyce Foun-dation’s senior program officer for Culture. “That’s why the Joyce Foundation supports democratizing the arts experience. As we can see from the long legacy of Joyce Award winning projects, neighborhoods and com-munities inspire world-class artists to create new works, and the artists in turn spark the imaginations of the people they touch. It’s a wonderful relationship.”

COLUMBIA ALUMNI SEE SUCCESS AT SUNDANCE AND THE CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

We are proud of the success shown by these talented alumni. Congratulations to all of our talented alumni showcasing their talents at both the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and 2011 Chicago International Film Festival. We wish you many more years of success.

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Last year’s Chicago International Film fes-tival included two alumni films as the fea-ture for the festival’s Columbia Night. The Return of Joe Rich, Columbia Night 2011’s feature film, was directed by Sam Auster (’80). The film premiered at the festival as part of its New Directors Series. The film is about a man trying to persuade his uncle, a mobster, to let him into the busi-ness. The film was screened alongside the winner of the Alumni Short Film Competi-tion, Lenny Morris vs. The Universe by Evan Powers (’10). About 90 people attended the private screening of the two films.

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival took place on January 25, 2012. Columbia’s alumni were strongly represented at the festival with positive reviews for films com-ing from various publications. One alum-nus even had his film purchased at the festival after its screening. Notable alumni at this year’s Sundance Film Festival included Common (’96), a

rapper who was praised for his lead role in LUV, Paul Garnes (BA ’96) who produced Middle of Nowhere, and D.V. DeVincentis (’89) who wrote and produced Lay the Fa-vorite.

Common was also one of the producers for LUV. The film was praised for its cast-ing. The review of Middle of Nowhere that appeared in the Hollywood Reporter said the film “strikes the right balance between realistic family drama and earnestness.” The film is about a couple separated by prison walls. Lay the Favorite starred ac-claimed actor Bruce Willis and was listed in the Hollywood Reporter as one of the “10 Films with Buzz: The Fest’s Best Bets.”

Zak Zeman (BA ’08) was the executive producer for V/H/S which was acquired by Magnolia Pictures and was reportedly the first Sundance horror film picked up this year. The film was well-received and was purchased for a figure described as “north of $1 million.”

The aim of Reggie Wilson’s latest project is to create, as The Dance Center Executive Direc-tor, Phil Reynolds explains, “an evening-length dance theater work, exploring the interfaith mythical, biblical, historic and global refer-ences of Moses.”

Reggie Wilson and The Dance Center are proud to be a part of the Joyce Foundation’s mission to bring diverse communities together through artistry. The Dance Center is especially hon-ored to be the only dance organization to have earned two Joyce Awards. The first award, re-ceived in 2004, supported The Dance Center’s co-commission of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan’s “Wild Cursive.”

PHOTO: ANDREAS LARSSON | 9

The Faculty and Staff Scholarship Initiative Committee has hosted some very successful events since the committee was founded in 2009. In 2010 the committee’s first event, a Loft Party on April first, featured a silent auc-tion of faculty and staff artwork that raised $11,000. The event earned the committee rec-ognition from the Council of Advancement and Support of Education for its efforts. The Loft Party Event earned the CASE V Bronze Award for excellence in the category of Best Event on a Shoestring Budget.

CASE V awards are “given in recognition of out-standing achievement in the concept and exe-cution of institutional advancement programs and communications.” The award honored the efforts of faculty and staff members who came together to raise money for Columbia’s stu-dents. The funds collected at the event were gifted to Scholarship Columbia, a matching program established to help students fund their Columbia College educations.

The Loft Party was only the beginning of the committee’s achievements. Another event, Co-lumbia’s Got Talent, won two CASE V awards. The event was held in December 2010. The event reportedly raised $16,300 with all pro-ceeds going to Scholarship Columbia. Colum-bia’s Got Talent “combined a holiday gift sale and a talent show” to showcase Faculty and Staff talents from across the college.

Columbia’s Got Talent earned a 2011 Best Event on a Shoestring Budget award and an-other award for Best Volunteer Engagement Program.

Pattie Mackenzie, a Faculty and Staff Schol-arship Initiative Committee member, said, “It really does take a village to put these things together, but it is a lot of fun working with peo-ple from all over the college that you wouldn’t normally get to meet.”

The committee’s most recent event, the Back to Ghoul Bash, earned around $13,000 dol-lars. The committee has entered the Back to Ghoul Bash for consideration for the 2012 CASE V Awards.

The mission of the committee is twofold. Not only does the committee fundraise on behalf of Columbia College students, it works to cre-ate a community among faculty and staff members. Mackenzie said, “It is the most won-derful committee to be on. You are surrounded by people who have great ideas and follow through to make money for students.”

The committee has certainly succeeded in creating a community of faculty and staff members that truly cares. The committee has raised a staggering $170,000 for Scholarship Columbia since 2009, and its phenomenal ef-forts are being recognized within and beyond the college.

FACULTY AND STAFF SCHOLARSHIP INITIATIVE COMMITTEE WINS BIG WITH A SMALL BUDGET

PHOTOS: DREW REYNOLDS (’97). COVER: BRAD BETZ10 |

Chairman’s Circle is for donors providing $5,000 or more annually. Membership includes special activities, private receptions and opportunities to take part in programs and classroom activities with faculty and students.

The President’s Club is for donors providing $1,000 or more annually. Membership benefits include special invitations to events.

Manifest Club is for alumni who give $10 a month or a grand total of $120 a year.

Visit colum.edu/giving to learn more

WHO WE ARE

Executive Editor/Vice President for Institutional AdvancementEric V. A. Winston, PhD

Editor/Content ManagerShay Lessman (MFA ’12)

Associate Vice President of Institutional Advancement Michael Andersonmanderson@colum.edu

Senior Director of Development, Major GiftsChandra Denniscdennis@colum.edu

Director of External Programs & Annual GivingBrent Caburnaybcaburnay@colum.edu

Director of Development, Major GiftsNancy Rampsonnrampson@colum.edu

Director of Planned GivingRuby Schuckerrschucker@colum.edu

PLEASE CONSIDER jOINING ONE OF OUR ANNUAL GIVING SOCIETIES

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give. arts matter.

PHOTO: DREW REYNOLDS (’97)

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