UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture’s 2024 Alumni Award winners receive their awards on Thursday, Sept. 12, they won’t just get a certificate or plaque. Since 2021, the college’s advancement office has collaborated with faculty and staff to fabricate unique pieces that reflect the creative skills and expertise in the college, as well as that of the award winners.
The 2024 awards were designed and built by Chris Russo, associate teaching professor of scenic technology, in collaboration with Jamie Heilman, digital fabrication specialized technologies coordinator in the Stuckeman School. Marissa Rojas, graphic designer, designed the faceplates with the winners’ names.
This year’s design, building off the previous iterations that incorporated finished and inlaid cherry and maple with a laser-etched acrylic panel, includes new materials — such as velour — while keeping some of the original elements intact.
“A notion of something old, something new, something fabric and something blue drove the design process,” Russo said.
In theaters, velour fabric is used for stage curtains and drapes. The velour used in the award design is a 21-ounce Crescent Velour in Royal Blue, typically used for the grand drape of a proscenium-style theater. The fabric presents a contrasting background for the laser-etched script on the front piece of acrylic. Also new this year is the use of aluminum for the award base.
One element that has remained the same is the use of replicas of the commencement banners for each winner’s school or department, adhered to the back of the award. The original banners, carried by the student marshals at spring commencement, were designed by Anne Gibson, professor emerita of theatre.
“That ties in a symbolic ‘behind the scenes’ gesture,” Russo noted.
The collaborative design and fabrication effort was launched in 2021 by Joyce Hoffman, then director of constituent engagement, who worked with the School of Visual Arts and the Stuckeman School to create the 2021 and 2022 awards.
Kelsey Knight, director of alumni relations and stewardship, took over the process in 2022 with the goal of incorporating faculty and staff from each academic unit over the span of several years. The 2023 and 2024 awards involved the School of Theatre and the Stuckeman School.
“This process has brought together faculty and staff from across the college to create a unique piece for some of our most accomplished alumni,” Knight said. “It’s wonderful to be able to present our award winners with something special that reflects the creativity and collaboration found across the College of Arts and Architecture.”
The 2024 College of Arts and Architecture Alumni Awards ceremony, open to the public, will take place at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12, at the Penn State Downtown Theatre Center. Register in advance here. This year’s winners are Carla Bonacci, class of 1982, bachelor of architecture, and class of 1981, bachelor of science in architecture, who leads planning, design and construction of public and private projects at the World Trade Center; Mindy Cooper, class of 2003, bachelor of landscape architecture, principal at Austin-based firm dwg.; Brian Harms, class of 1999, master of fine arts in theater, art director and production designer; Daniel Haxall, class of 2000, master of architecture, and class of 2009, doctorate in art history, professor of art history at Kutztown University; Kimberly Schenck, class of 1979, bachelor of fine arts in art, longtime head of paper conservation at the National Gallery of Art; Kính T. Vũ, class of 2005, master of music, assistant professor of music in music education at Boston University; and Thomas Wilder, class of 2008, bachelor of design in graphic design, global principal at Wolff Olins.