CAA News Today
CAA Announces Departure of Executive Director Hunter O’Hanian at End of Contract
posted by CAA — March 19, 2019
College Art Association Board President Jim Hopfensperger and Executive Director/CEO Hunter O’Hanian announced last Friday to staff and internal constituents that O’Hanian will be leaving CAA upon conclusion of his current three-year contract in June.
During his time as executive director, O’Hanian oversaw numerous organizational changes including a successful rebranding, a streamlining of membership structures, and improvements to staffing and financial reporting. In addition, he supervised significant changes to programs including increases to the number of CAA Annual Conference sessions and awards, renewed engagement with CAA Affiliated Societies, a new contract with CAA’s co-publisher (Routledge, Taylor & Francis), and plans for launching year-round programs.
“Hunter has led CAA with great intelligence, empathy, energy, and passion, and the association has enjoyed many successes these past three years,” said Hopfensperger. “In particular, the board of directors is grateful for his commitment to diversity and inclusion, and his efforts to better position CAA for success as both a learned society and a professional association.”
“For me, it’s been an exciting and fulfilling experience,” said O’Hanian. “I have enjoyed meeting and working with the members, staff and board, while strengthening our programs. Making change is never easy, especially for an association with an 107-year history. But I could not be prouder of the staff at CAA, the board of directors, the committees and editorial boards, and the members of this organization for their work ethic and feedback. I believe we have made a stronger association.”
As O’Hanian concludes his service, the board of directors will begin a search for its next executive director this spring with the hopes of bringing on a new leader by year’s end. In addition, an announcement concerning plans for interim leadership through the transition will be forthcoming.
Meet the New CAA Board Members
posted by CAA — February 21, 2019
The results of the 2019 CAA Board of Directors Election and Proposed Changes to CAA’s By-Laws were presented at the CAA Annual Business Meeting, Part II on Friday, February 15 at 2:00 PM at the 107th CAA Annual Conference in New York.
We are grateful to all the candidates who put forward their names for consideration this year. Six candidates were selected for election by the 2018-19 Nominating Committee for a four-year term running from 2019–23.
CAA Board of Directors Election
We congratulate Lynne Allen, Niku Kashef, Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, and Jennifer Rissler on their election by CAA membership to the CAA Board of Directors.
Read more about the new board members:
Lynne Allen statement and resume
Niku Kashef statement and resume
Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi statement and resume
Jennifer Rissler statement and resume
About the Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is charged with CAA’s long-term financial stability and strategic direction; it is also the Association’s governing body. The board sets policy regarding all aspects of CAA’s activities, including publishing, the Annual Conference, awards and fellowships, advocacy, and committee procedures.
Proposed Changes to CAA’s By-Laws
The proposed amendments to the bylaws were adopted by 81% of the voting membership, and those changes will go into effect immediately. Read more about the changes here.
Thank you to all those who voted!
Vote for CAA’s 2019 Board of Directors and Proposed By-Law Changes
posted by CAA — December 10, 2018
As a CAA member, voting is one of your most important responsibilities in shaping the future of the organization. Thank you for taking the time to vote.
For 2019, there are two items to vote on: the 2019 CAA Board of Directors Election and Proposed Changes to CAA’s By-Laws.
Scroll down to learn more and submit your online voting form.
2019 CAA Board of Directors Election
The CAA Board of Directors comprises professionals in the visual arts who are elected annually by the membership to serve four-year terms. The Board is charged with CAA’s long-term financial stability and strategic direction; it is also the Association’s governing body. The board sets policy regarding all aspects of CAA’s activities, including publishing, the Annual Conference, awards and fellowships, advocacy, and committee procedures. For more information, please read the CAA By-laws on Nominations, Elections, and Appointments.
Meet the Candidates
The 2018–19 Nominating Committee has selected a slate of six candidates for election to the CAA Board of Directors for the 2019–23 term. Click the names of the candidates below to read their statements and resumes before casting your vote. The candidates are:
CAA members may vote for up to four (4) candidates, including one write-in candidate (who must be a CAA member). The four candidates receiving the most votes will be elected to the board.
CAA members must cast their votes for board members and submit their proxies online using the form below; no paper ballots will be mailed. The deadline to vote for the board is 6:00 PM (Eastern Time) on Thursday, February 14, 2019.
Proposed Changes to CAA’s By-Laws
In addition, on November 16, 2018, the CAA Board of Directors voted to recommend that the membership amend the Association’s By-laws, as described here by Jim Hopfensperger, CAA president, and Hunter O’Hanian, CAA chief executive officer and executive director. Click here to review the proposed changes before voting.
To vote on the proposed changes, CAA members may either cast their votes online using the form below or in-person at the 2019 Annual Conference.
Submit Your Vote Below
You can use the form below to vote for both the 2019 CAA Board of Directors Election and Proposed Changes to CAA’s By-Laws. Please have your CAA user/member ID# and password handy when you are ready to vote.
Use the scroll bar on the right side of the form to scroll down, make your choices, and submit.
The election results will be announced at CAA’s 107th Annual Conference during the second segment of the Annual Business Meeting scheduled from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM on Friday, February 15, 2019 in the Hudson Suite at The New York Hilton Midtown.
Questions? Contact Vanessa Jalet, executive liaison, at (212) 392-4434 or vjalet@collegeart.org
Notice of CAA 107th Annual Business Meeting
posted by CAA — December 10, 2018
College Art Association
Notice of 107th Annual Business Meeting
New York, New York
Wednesday, February 13 and Friday, February 15, 2019
The 107th Annual Business Meeting of the members of the College Art Association will be called to order at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, February 13th, during Convocation at the 2019 Annual Conference, in the Grand Ballroom Foyer, 3rd Floor, New York Hilton Midtown Hotel, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019.
CAA President, Jim Hopfensperger, will preside. The Annual Business Meeting will be held in two parts.
AGENDA
The Agenda for the first part of the Annual Business Meeting is as follows:
I. Welcome – Hunter O’Hanian, CAA Executive Director and CEO
II. Presentation by Jim Hopfensperger, CAA President
III. Executive Director’s Report – Hunter O’Hanian
IV. Presentation of CAA Awards for Distinction
V. 2019 Professional Development Fellowships in Visual Arts and Art History
VI. Keynote Address – Joyce Scott
After the Keynote Address, the Meeting will be recessed and will re-convene on Friday, February 15, 2019 from 2:00 – 3:30 PM in the Hudson Suite at the New York Hilton. The Agenda for the second part of the Annual Business Meeting is as follows:
VII. Approval of Minutes of 106th Annual Business Meeting, February 23, and 25, 2018 – see https://www.collegeart.org/news/2018/12/10/caa-106th-annual-business-meeting-minutes/
VIII. Financial Report: Teresa Lopez, CAA Chief Financial Officer
IX. Old Business
X. New Business
- Announcement of election results by Jim Hopfensperger
- Amendments to the By-laws: Jim Hopfensperger
The proposed changes, set out in red on the attached version of the By-Laws, are a result of the work of two Governance Task Forces (2015-2018) that examined CAA’s governance structure to make the Association more responsive to the needs of its members and the changing demographics in the field. The Board of Directors submits these changes to the membership with the recommendation that they approve them. Members may vote on-line or at the Annual Business Meeting.
XI. Open discussion with members, Board and staff
Proxies
If you are unable to attend the Annual Business Meeting, please complete a proxy online to appoint the individuals named thereon to (i) vote, as directed by you, for directors, and, at their discretion, on such other matters as may properly come before the Annual Business Meeting; and (ii) to vote in any and all adjournments thereof. CAA Members will be notified when the proxy for casting votes becomes available online in early January 2019. A proxy, with your vote for directors, must be received no later than 6:00 PM EST, Thursday, February 14, 2019.
Next Meeting – 2020
The 108th Annual Business Meeting of the College Art Association will be held in Chicago in 2020, and again will be divided into two parts – one at Convocation on Wednesday, February 12, and a second meeting and open discussion on Friday, February 14, 2020.
CAA 106th Annual Business Meeting Minutes
posted by CAA — December 10, 2018
MINUTES of
College Art Association 106th Annual Business Meeting
Part One – Room 502 A + B
Los Angeles Convention Center
1201 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA
Wednesday, February 21, 2018: Convocation, 6:00 PM
and
Part Two – Room 403B, Los Angeles Convention Center,
Friday, February 23, 2018: myCAA, 2:00 – 3:30 PM
Part One
CAA’s President, Suzanne Preston Blier, welcomed attendees to CAA’s Convocation and to the Association’s 106th Annual Business Meeting. The Annual Business Meeting will be held in two parts.
The Convocation proceeded with President Blier’s opening comments followed by the Annual Awards for Distinction ceremony. The Keynote Address was given by Charles Gaines of Cal Art, School of Art.
Part Two
I. Call to Order
President Suzanne Blier called to order Part Two of the Annual Business Meeting. With 400+ proxies, there was a quorum for reconvening the Annual Business Meeting.
II. President Blier called for approval of the minutes from the 2017 Annual Business Meeting. The approval of the minutes of the 2017 Annual Business Meeting was moved and second. The minutes were approved.
III. President Blier called on Teresa Lopez, CAA’s Chief Financial Officer, to give the financial report for fiscal year 2017.
Ms. Lopez noted that the Association ended fiscal year 2017 with a deficit of $176,152. The CAA staff, with Board participation, was developing a budget to eliminate deficits in future years. Reducing the full-time staff from 27 to 22 employees would assist in reducing deficits in future years.
As of June 30, 2017, the Association had 8,712 individual members and 1,229 institutional members (including 718 subscribers handled via Taylor & Francis), for a total of 9,941 members.
Lopez reported that the fair market value of CAA’s investment portfolio increased from $9,398,571 on July 1, 2016 to $9,838,150 on June 30, 2017.
Copies of the audited financial statement for FY 2017 were made available as handouts and a pdf was posted on CAA’s website.
IV. President Blier called for old business. There was none.
V. President Blier called for new business. There was none.
VI. Results of Board Election: President Blier announced the results of the election to the Board of Directors. The following were elected as directors:
Laura Anderson Barbata
Audrey Bennett
Dahlia Elsayed
Alice Ming Wai Jim.
President Blier congratulated all the candidates and thanked them for their willingness to serve CAA.
VII. President Blier and CAA Executive Director Hunter O’Hanian opened the discussion to all attendees. There was no discussion.
VIII. The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Melissa Potter, Secretary
November 15, 2018
Next CAA Annual Business Meeting in 2019
The 107th Annual Meeting of the College Art Association will take place during Convocation on Wednesday, February 13, 2019 at 6:00 PM and on Friday, February 15, 2019 from 2:00 – 3:30 PM at the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel, in New York City.
An Interview with Jim Hopfensperger, the New President of CAA
posted by CAA — May 24, 2018
Jim Hopfensperger at home.
As of this month, Jim Hopfensperger, professor of art at Western Michigan University’s Gwen Frostic School of Art, is CAA’s new president for the 2018-2022 term. As a professor and artist with a wealth of experience, we thought it would be a great opportunity to ask Jim his thoughts on CAA and the field at-large. CAA media and content manager Joelle Te Paske spoke with him earlier this month.
JTP: Hi Jim! Thanks so much for speaking with me. How are you?
JH: Very well, Joelle. Thank you so much for taking the time to visit!
JTP: To get us oriented, where did you grow up?
JH: My spouse, Jane, and I were raised in the upper Midwest. While career choices took us to Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, we returned “home” to Michigan eighteen years ago to be nearer aging family members.
JTP: And what did you study?
JH: I was educated as a craftsperson, working primarily in non-ferrous metals such as silver, gold, and copper. During a sabbatical leave from my faculty position at Penn State University in the early 1990s, I was presented the opportunity to work in a furniture studio in Massachusetts. Within a few weeks I was totally hooked, gifting my metal working tools to a younger artist and moving forward as a furniture maker.
Jim Hopfensperger, Shaker Purple, 2012
JTP: What drew you to the work you do now?
JH: I am drawn to how creating art/design objects—one-at-a-time and by hand—reinforces and reaffirms what it means to be a human being. Thinking with my hands, my eyes, and my mind to conceive well-designed and useful articles makes me feel whole. Perhaps I am a kinesthetic thinker/learner? It also seems possible that, for better and for worse, my sense of self is simply anchored in making things. The non-existent term “neuroceutical therapy” comes to mind!
JTP: What is exciting to you as the incoming CAA president?
JH: The forces of change are in motion all around us. It is a truly exhilarating time to be in the business of living!
As for CAA, a raft of research suggests that healthy organizations prosper when focusing efforts along two key pathways: 1) identifying and strengthening essential core competencies and 2) systematically exploring future capacities. This means sustaining CAA’s outstanding programs and services while simultaneously identifying the organization’s next purposes. Full attention to both matters seems essential if we are to extend a highly distinguished history of advocacy for artists, art historians, scholars, curators, critics, designers, collectors, and educators. I am grateful for this opportunity and excited about the work ahead.
Jim Hopfensperger, Deliberation No. 7, 2005
JTP: What work has been done over the past few years that you would like to build on? What would you like to see happening at CAA in the next year? How about in the next ten?
JH: Clearly, CAA remains an eminent learned society. At the same time it is increasingly fulfilling its potential as a professional association that serves members across educational, curatorial, scholarly, and creative pursuits. In the short term I am confident CAA will remain a strong association and identify more ways to support members in their professional lives.
Over the next few years a pivot toward some key constituencies might make strategic sense. Those include 1) the burgeoning ranks of contingent employees upon whom educational and cultural institutions have become increasingly reliant; 2) the large number of design and new/emerging media practitioners graduating from art and design programs; and 3) the community of international scholars, artists, and designers steadily advancing global perspectives. I look forward to working with CAA members, staff, board, and other stakeholders to map a future wherein these colleagues will be well served.
JTP: What has been a memorable professional moment for you at a CAA Annual Conference?
JH: I am deeply invested in the fellowship aspects of CAA. My fondest memory involves mentoring in the Professional Development Workshops at the Annual Conference in 2000. One my mentees was, as I, trained as a metalsmith. We worked closely after that conference to identify strategies for achieving his professional goals, and he eventually accepted a splendid academic position. In return for my service, and for each of the past eighteen years uninterrupted, he has gifted to me a handcrafted metal ornament to hang on our family holiday tree. Simply precious! (And if you are reading this Professor James Thurman, a wholehearted “Thank You!” is long overdue.)
Jim Hopfensperger, Deliberation No. 9, 2013
JTP: What would you say is the number one challenge facing higher education?
JH: Excellent question. My two cents: Adapting to the startling, inevitable pace of cultural and technological change is an operational necessity. Yet, communicating the value of an educated populace appears to be our most immediate and pressing challenge. Making the case for the causal relationship between educational opportunities and the ascendance of an increasingly ethical, moral, and empathetic society is job one. In the absence of such a mission statement, it is not difficult to imagine financial or economic ‘values’ easily filling the void.
The logical outcome might then resemble Oscar Wilde’s timeless quip about a cynic being ‘a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.’
JTP: Do you have a favorite artwork?
JH: I have a keen interest in all forms of applied design—dynamic and surprising buildings, objects, communications, products, and processes. However, and for reasons I am not fully able to explain, my favorite artwork is Monet’s Four Trees in the Met’s collection. This quiet little companion and I visit perhaps once every 12 to 24 months. Invariably, I leave our encounters refreshed and restored.
Claude Monet, The Four Trees, 1891, oil on canvas, 32 1/4 x 32 1/8 in. (81.9 x 81.6 cm) Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image: Wikimedia Commons
JTP: What about a favorite book?
JH: Much of my reading over the past decade can be described as a search for serviceable maps of the human mind, followed by rubbernecking at accidents caused by irrational behaviors. Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow is a fine example of the former, the type of mind mapping I find highly addictive. Kahneman’s lenses for understanding our extraordinary capabilities, while simultaneously identifying those pesky faults and deep biases that accompany human thought and action, help structure my own thinking. In a related way writings on decision-making in everyday life are equally intriguing and useful. Charles Duhiggs’s The Power of Habit, Dan Ariely’s Predictably Irrational, Keith Payne’s The Broken Ladder successfully illustrate complexities and contradictions when/where supposedly rational thoughts and human actions intersect, often to hilarious and/or tragic effect—endlessly fascinating stuff!
Jim Hopfensperger is a professor of art at Western Michigan University’s Gwen Frostic School of Art where he teaches foundation art. Jim’s art works have been shown nationally and internationally in over 100 exhibitions at venues including the Detroit Institute of Arts, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Auckland Memorial Museum, Lever House, University of Iowa Museum of Art, University of Oregon Museum of Art, State Museum of Pennsylvania, North Carolina Museum of History, and National Ornamental Metals Museum.
Jim’s past appointments include serving as Senior Associate Dean in the College of Fine Arts at Western Michigan University, Chair of the Department of Art & Art History at Michigan State University, and Head of the Studio Art Program at The Pennsylvania State University. He has also taught at the Massachusetts College of Art, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, Skidmore College, University of Michigan, and North Carolina State University.
Jim is Past President of the National Council of Arts Administrators, and is an accreditation visitor for the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. He earned a MFA from University of Michigan, a MA from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a BA from Michigan State University.
Do You Know a CAA-Friendly Person Who Knows Numbers?
posted by CAA — May 11, 2018
As you know, CAA is a non-profit organization. Last fall, our beloved Treasurer Jack Hyland passed away after more than twenty years of service to the Association. Board Member Peter Lukehart has agreed to serve as Interim Treasurer until a permanent new treasurer is found.
If you know someone, perhaps a spouse or friend of an existing CAA member, who knows their away around numbers (i.e., budgets, annual financial statements, etc.) who would be willing to serve the Association as its Treasurer, please contact Executive Director Hunter O’Hanian (HOHanian@collegeart.org). Elected by the Board of Directors, the Treasurer is a non-paid position and sits on the Board of Directors. He or she works closely with the Association’s CFO to review financial statements. It is estimated that this role takes approximately 5 hours of volunteer time per quarter, in addition to attendance at the Board of Directors meetings which are usually in February, May and October.
CAA Welcomes New Board Members
posted by CAA — March 02, 2018
The results of the 2018 CAA Board of Directors Election were presented at the CAA Annual Business Meeting, Part II on Thursday, February 23 at 2:00 PM at the 106th CAA Annual Conference in Los Angeles. We are grateful to all the candidates who put forward their names for consideration this year.
Six candidates were selected for election by the 2017-18 Nominating Committee for a four-year term running from 2018–22.
We congratulate Laura Anderson Barbata, Audrey G. Bennett, Dahlia Elsayed, and Alice Ming Wai Jim on their election to the CAA Board of Directors.
Read more about the new board members:
Laura Anderson Barbata statement and resume
Audrey G. Bennett statement and resume
Dahlia Elsayed statement and resume
Alice Ming Wai Jim statement and resume
About the Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is charged with CAA’s long-term financial stability and strategic direction; it is also the Association’s governing body. The board sets policy regarding all aspects of CAA’s activities, including publishing, the Annual Conference, awards and fellowships, advocacy, and committee procedures.
Do You Know a CAA-Friendly Person Who Knows Numbers?
posted by CAA — February 12, 2018
As you know, CAA is a non-profit organization. Last fall, our beloved Treasurer Jack Hyland passed away after more than twenty years of service to the Association. Board Member Peter Lukehart has agreed to serve as Interim Treasurer until a permanent new treasurer is found.
If you know someone, perhaps a spouse or friend of an existing CAA member, who knows their away around numbers (i.e., budgets, annual financial statements, etc.) who would be willing to serve the Association as its Treasurer, please contact Executive Director Hunter O’Hanian (HOHanian@collegeart.org). Elected by the Board of Directors, the Treasurer is a non-paid position and sits on the Board of Directors. He or she works closely with the Association’s CFO to review financial statements. It is estimated that this role takes approximately 5 hours of volunteer time per quarter, in addition to attendance at the Board of Directors meetings which are usually in February, May and October.
Notice of CAA 106th Annual Business Meeting
posted by CAA — December 15, 2017
College Art Association
Notice of 106th Annual Business Meeting
Los Angeles, California
Wednesday, February 21 and Friday, February 23, 2018
The 106th Annual Business Meeting of the members of the College Art Association will be called to order at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, February 21st, during Convocation at the 2018 Annual Conference, in Room 502A and B at the Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California.
CAA President, Suzanne Preston Blier, will preside. The Annual Business Meeting will be held in two parts.
AGENDA
The Agenda for the first part of the Annual Business Meeting is as follows:
I. Welcome – Hunter O’Hanian, CAA Executive Director and CEO
II. Presentation by Suzanne Preston Blier, CAA President
III. Executive Director’s Report – Hunter O’Hanian
IV. Presentation of CAA Awards for Distinction – Suzanne Preston Blier
V. 2018 Professional Development Fellowships in Visual Arts and Art History
VI. Keynote Address – Charles Gaines, CalArt, School of Art.
After the Keynote Address, the Meeting will be recessed and will re-convene on Friday, February 23, 2018 from 2:00 – 3:30 PM in Room 403B, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The Agenda for the second part of the Annual Business Meeting is as follows:
VII. Approval of Minutes of 105th Annual Business Meeting, February 15 and 17, 2017 – see: https://www.collegeart.org/news/2017/12/15/caa-105th-annual-business-meeting-minutes
VIII. Financial Report: Teresa Lopez, CAA Chief Financial Officer
IX. Old Business
X. New Business
XI. Results of Election of New Directors: Suzanne Preston Blier
XII. Open discussion with members, Board and staff
Proxies
If you are unable to attend the Annual Business Meeting, please complete a proxy online to appoint the individuals named thereon to (i) vote, as directed by you, for directors, and, at their discretion, on such other matters as may properly come before the Annual Business Meeting; and (ii) to vote in any and all adjournments thereof. CAA Members will be notified when the proxy for casting votes becomes available online in early January 2018. A proxy, with your vote for directors, must be received no later than 6:00 PM PST Thursday, February 22, 2018.
Next Meeting – 2019
The 107th Annual Business Meeting of the College Art Association will be held in New York in 2019, and again take place in two parts — with a call to order on February 13, and a second meeting and open discussion on February 15.
Roberto Tejada, Secretary
College Art Association
December 15, 2017