Yale Bulletin and Calendar

November 17, 2000Volume 29, Number 11




Vincent J. Scully Jr.




Willie H. Ruff Jr.




Instrumental Connection




Thomas Greene




Dr. David Leffell,
Linda Roseman
and Terry Dagradi




Docents at the Yale University Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art


Arts Council honors six Yale affiliates

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven is recognizing Yale's 300th anniversary by honoring six Yale individuals and groups who "bring life and truth to the community" through their involvement in the arts.

For the award, the council sought nominations of Yale affiliates and groups from the general public. A community jury selected Art Place, the new gallery at the Yale Physicians Building; the docents of the Yale University Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art; Instrumental Connection, a Dwight Hall student group; and Thomas Greene, the Frederick Clifford Ford Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature, who founded the Open End Theater.

In addition, Willie H. Ruff Jr., professor of music and director of the Duke Ellington Fellowship at the School of Music, will receive the Champion of the Arts Award, and Vincent J. Scully, Sterling Professor Emeritus of History of Art, will receive the Arts Council's Newton Schenck Award for outstanding lifetime achievement in and contribution to the arts.

The awards will be presented at a luncheon on Friday, Dec. 8, at 11:45 a.m. at the New Haven Lawn Club, 193 Whitney Ave. Yale College Dean Richard H. Brodhead will be the featured speaker. The Yale Klezmer Band will provide entertainment. Tickets to the luncheon are $35 and can be purchased by calling the Arts Council at (203) 772-2788.

The following are excerpts from the letters sent to the honorees.

Art Place: "Through great understanding and appreciation of the ability of the arts to heal the spirit and restore the soul, the administration, faculty and staff of the Yale Physicians Building have invested time, money and enormous energy in the development of a showcase for the work of local artists. Through your generous vision, the corridors and waiting rooms of a place visited by so many in need of the outstanding services of the Yale medical school faculty, have come alive with paintings, photographs, fiber art and sculptures. You have provided an important venue for local artists from both Yale and the community to show their work in an environment where it can be especially appreciated."

Docents, Yale Art Gallery and Yale Center for British Art: "The more than 6,000 volunteer hours provided yearly by 52 docents make it possible for the two museums to carry out an extensive program of arts education. Every day the highly trained and knowledgeable men and women lead hundreds of visitors through the museums' permanent collections and special exhibitions. Their consummate skill in tailoring their talks to different age groups gives visitors a deep understanding of the historical and cultural appreciation of the techniques they use to produce it. These dedicated men and women are the heart and soul of the museum's education program for both children and adults."

Instrumental Connection: "With the decline in recent years of musical education and training in the nation's public schools, it is of special significance that talented Yale students work tirelessly in the neighborhoods week after week to provide music lessons, instruments and opportunities to perform to the city's school children. The growth and development of the Instrumental Connection, over the past 10 years, has made a major contribution to the lives of hundreds of children. Through the growing ranks of students participating, the expansion to additional schools, as well as providing new opportunities to hear and perform music, the Instrumental Connection has brought Yale and the larger community closer in an important shared experience."

Thomas Greene and the Open End Theater: "After a distinguished career as the Frederick Clifford Ford Professor of English and Comparative Literature, you refused to rest on your laurels but worked tirelessly to pursue a significant project that you have thought about for many years. Using the vehicle of the theater, you have found a way to engage teenagers in clarifying their values and dealing with the profound choices facing young people today. The work you have done to create, staff and find funding for Open End Theater has used the power of art to teach, enlighten and inspire and to develop a dynamic partnership between Yale and the larger community."

Willie H. Ruff Jr.: "Your distinguished lifelong career of bringing the beauty of your performances to millions around the world, as well as your dedication to the education of young and old alike to learn about and appreciate the great American art form of jazz, makes you one of the arts most important advocates. Through your work with the Duke Ellington Fellowship, you have brought to New Haven the most outstanding jazz artists. You have used your profound belief in the mentoring aspect of musical education to bring these artists into close contact with New Haven's aspiring young musicians through school visits and master classes. In your generous willingness to lecture and speak to any group who asks you, you have taught us so much about the painful origins of this incredible melding of African and European musical traditions that now brings so much pride to America and pleasure to so many around the world."

Vincent J. Scully Jr.: "As our nation's greatest art historian and Yale's most famous lecturer we are enormously proud that you have continued to love, cherish and at times, force us to look at the best and worst of your native city. Your passion and eloquence has given all of us in New Haven, students and citizens alike, the discerning tools to see our city with new eyes. You inspire us to strive to maintain its beauty and make decisions that will protect it from the gross mistakes of the past. With this award we salute and honor your lasting contributions to our aspirations to build and maintain a beautiful and livable city."


T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Strobe Talbott to head Center for Study of Globalization

Need-blind admission policy extended to international students

Project boosts interdisciplinary debate about bioethical issues

Arts Council honors six Yale affiliates


ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS

Yale astronomers to collaborate with Chilean university

India enjoying 'moment of pride and promise,' says former leader

Pediatrician's achievements saluted at event in his honor

Lawyer takes hellish journey to 'Heaven' in next Yale Rep show

A Material World: Backstage at the Costume Shop

Philosopher Shelly Kagan is reappointed Luce Professor

Student shares his travels in China via video 'journal'

Talking and Teaching: Bill Cosby and Roland Clement

Long-time faculty member Irvin L. Child, a noted psychologist, dies

Camerata's annual Advent concert will feature work by Yale composers

Talk to explore how election impacted the business world

Campus Notes

In the News

Yale Scoreboard



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