Welcome to Art & Design Alumni Association
Alumni Association Scholarship Program

Since June 1990 the Alumni Association has given cash awards at graduation: to a student who has consistently excelled in art and to a student who has consistently excelled in architecture. Our first awards amounted to just $25 each. They have since been increased to $300 or more, thanks to your support.
____In 1994 a third award was added to our list, The Marcel Fitzner Memorial Award for Excellence in Architecture and Service to Art & Design. This award has been personally funded by former president, Yvonne Fitzner, in memory of her brother -- a graduate of the Class of 1962 who passed away on November 12, 1993. Marcel was an architecture major and was also very active in student government. This award is therefore presented annually to a graduating student who has displayed outstanding accomplishments in the same areas.
-----The Alumni Association added a fourth award in 2001, The Alan Hipwell Memorial Award for Excellence in Photography. This award is given in honor of photographer Alan Hipwell, Class of 1960, who passed away on June 21, 2001. Alan was our 2nd Vice President and the website's original photo editor. He had also been a substitute teacher at Art & Design during the late 1980's, and continued to donate his spare time to help students with computer graphics input. The scholarship award in his name will be given to a senior who has excelled in the subject of photography.
____This year, we are proud to include The Barbara Nessim Award for Excellence in illustration. This award is funded by a generous gift from 1956 alumna Barbara Nessim, an internationally renowned illustrator and pioneer in digital art. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London recently displayed a three month retrospective of her work from 1960 to 2013. All 100 works are now in their permanent collection. The book "Barbara Nessim: An Artful Life" was published by Abrams, coinciding with the exhibit, and is available for sale worldwide. 
        This award will be presented to a graduating senior who has shown innovation and excelled in the subject of illustration.
____In 2006 a sixth was award added by alumnus John Schmidt (A&D 1980): The Broader Brush Award, in memory of his mother, Shelby Gomprecht Schmidt, former Coordinator of Student Affairs and a teacher at the High School of Art and Design, School of Industrial Art, for over 30 years.
____This award is to be given annually to two deserving students, in the amount of $200 each: to an outstanding student who has demonstrated extraordinary character, leadership, and commitment to caring and service; and to a student who has made tremendous academic progress and has demonstrated extraordinary character, leadership, and commitment to caring and service.
2010 saw the addition of several new awards, thanks to the generosity of our alumni, some of whom are members of the faculty at the High School of Art and Design.
The Class of 1969 Imagine Award was created and funded by the Class of 1969 following their 40th class reunion in October 2009. This annual award, in the amount of $300, will be presented to a graduating senior chosen by his or her teachers as the student who possesses the spirit of Creativity and Imagination.
The Minna Gordon Debel Memorial Award is a special award being given annually to a deserving freshman student. Funded by Gail Debel Allouf, this award is in tribute to her mother who passed away the night before her graduation in June 1969. Mrs. Debel, who battled asthma and emphysema, took a job to afford paying for Gail's art supplies. Gail earned the Fashion Portfolio Award and a full scholarship to Parson's, thanks to her mother's devotion and sacrifice. This gift in her memory will be a portfolio full of art supplies valued at $200, presented to a dedicated freshman student of great need.

-----If you wish to contribute to a specific scholarship award, please let us know. Or if you would like to establish a new award for a specific art major, please send us a protocol detailing the criteria for the selection process. Remember, our school gave us a unique perspective on life and a priceless opportunity. Now is the time to give back and keep the torch burning.