USD Magazine Spring 2013

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T h a t ’ s wh a t got me e x c i t e d a b out t h i s p r o j e c t , t h e i d e a o f t h e c ommun i t y c om i n g to g e t h e r and h av i n g t h i s d i a l og u e . ” — Noé Olivas, USD Visual Arts Major

He also anticipates culling the creative spirits of students and faculty across the USD campus by devis- ing projects with the law professors, for instance, or the students in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences. “All of these programs should have a stake in what we do,” he says. “If we are not, over a period of time, engaging that broad spectrum, then we are not really doing our job well.” Step into Mary Boyd’s office, nestled in the heart of Founders Hall, and you’ll see another gallery she is proud to share: the walls of her office, which currently frame a senior thesis photography exhibition. While the outgoing dean of the College of Arts and Sciences comes solidly from a science background — chemistry, specifically — she’s an active proponent of the arts. Every few months, a new show embellishes her walls as she carries out the work of the college, the core of the USD academic experience. Engaging in the arts as a student is a mind-broadening experience, she says, particularly at USD, where founder Mother Rosalie Clifton Hill believed students should be surrounded by beauty as a way to foster a life of intel- lectual pursuits. Boyd took her own first studio fine arts classes as a faculty member at Loyola University in Chicago, starting with color theory.

ming and curatorial interns. Others are invited to create sophisticated works of art in response to exhibitions and then see their pieces mounted next to the master works in the exhibition. The return of Derrick Cartwright in the newly created position of director of university galleries in August has created similar momentum. An assistant professor of art history at USD during the 1990s, Cartwright went on to become one of his generation’s most respected museum directors, leading museums in France and at Dartmouth College, as well as the San Diego Museum of Art and the Seattle Art Museum. His vision and reputation for seeking collaborations across disciplines and creating opportuni- ties for art novices is well documented, and his plans for USD will build on past successes. “I’m looking forward to the day when we have this pro- gram so well constructed that someone could come spend time at the IPJ Fine Art Galleries, stop in and see what we are doing with the Hoehn Family Galleries, get lunch, pay a visit to the May Collection and then see something at the Student Life Pavilion; to have as rich and varied a museum experience as you can have on almost any college campus in the country,” explains Cartwright, who can envision up to a dozen exhibitions a year, with students involved in every one. “The goal is to assemble a ‘string of pearls’ stretching the entire length of the USD campus that, when viewed col- lectively, will add up to something truly vital and significant.”

Director of University Galleries Derrick Cartwright (above left); College of Arts and Sciences Dean Mary Boyd with students Rafal Kopacz and Noé Olivas (center).

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USD MAGAZINE