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CIC ANNOUNCES GRANT FROM THE GETTY GRANT PROGRAM TO SUPPORT PROJECT ON HISTORIC CAMPUS ARCHITECTURE

WASHINGTON, DC - The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) announces a two-year $151,000 grant from the Getty Grant Program to support a survey of historic architecture and design on the campuses of independent colleges and universities.

The survey will include approximately 700 independent colleges and universities and will attempt to record, interpret, and evaluate an inventory of structures of architectural or historical interest on independent college and small university campuses across the country. "Historic buildings on the campuses of small colleges and universities across the country offer a rich and vital resource for understanding the history and cultural significance of American architecture, design, and planning during the past two centuries," said CIC President Richard Ekman. "These buildings offer evidence of the relationship between physical facilities and educational objectives, reflecting the deliberate traditions and values of some of America's oldest institutions of higher
learning. We are pleased that the Getty grant will allow CIC to build the documentation of these important structures."

Dr. Barbara S. Christen, currently research associate at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts of the National Gallery of Art and an architectural historian, will direct the project as Senior Advisor to CIC. An advisory committee will provide guidance on the project. Committee members are Randy Mason, director of the graduate program in historic preservation at the School of Architecture, University of Maryland/College Park; Therese O'Malley, associate dean of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC; Damie Stillman, professor of art history emeritus at the University of Delaware and editor-in-chief, Buildings of the United States series; John Strassburger, president of Ursinus College (PA); Thomas C. Celli, president of CelliFlynnBrennan, Inc./Architects and Planners (PA); Russell Keune, former director
of international relations at The American Institute of Architects; and William H. Pierson, Jr., professor of art emeritus at Williams College (MA).

Information from the survey will be organized geographically, with each campus discussed in terms of 1) architecturally and historically significant buildings; 2) the campuses themselves, in relation to issues of planning and landscape architecture; and 3) the history of the town and city in which the institution is located. "A database will be created for the historical and visual documentation of buildings and sites, with cross-referencing between institutions regarding architectural style, and the historical, educational, or religious contexts in which an institution was working. This information will serve as a scholarly foundation upon which subsequent studies about the architectural history of higher education will be based," Christen said.

Christen indicated that, once the survey is completed, future funding would allow the team to begin work on the second phase of the project, which will encompass research, writing, and editing of a number of publications. "These publications will make accessible a little-known area of American architectural and educational history to a wideaudience, including students, alumni, business leaders, tourists, interested laypersons, and specialists in American architecture and related fields in education, religious studies, historic preservation, American studies, construction, and the material arts," she said.

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The Council of Independent Colleges is an association of approximately 500 independent colleges and universities that work together to strengthen college and university leadership, sustain high-quality education, and enhance private higher education's contributions to society. To fulfill this mission, CIC provides its members with skills, tools, and knowledge that address aspects of leadership, financial management and performance, academic quality, and institutional visibility.

The Getty Grant Program is part of the J. Paul Getty Trust, an international cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. The Grant Program provides critical support to institutions and individuals throughout the world in fields that are aligned most closely with the Trust's strategic priorities. It therefore funds a diverse range of projects that promote learning and scholarship about the history of the visual arts and the conservation of cultural heritage, and it consistently searches for collaborative efforts that set high standards and make significant contributions. Since its inception in 1984, the Grant Program has supported over 2,500 projects in more than 150 countries.

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