Welcome to Art & Design Alumni Association
About Us

The Art and Design Alumni Association is an organization comprised solely of volunteers. No one is paid a salary, although we are allowed, by law, to hire an Executive Director and have a paid staff. We, like you, are graduates of SIA and A&D who come from a variety of backgrounds and professions and meet on a monthly basis.
000Our purpose is to help the students of the High School of Art & Design, not only with scholarship awards at graduation, but also as a sponsor of student art competitions and student activities; to offer career guidance by arranging for alumni to come in to various classes to speak about their work and careers; to help with portfolio grading at the end of the school year; to set up mentoring programs; and to encourage the donation of goods and services to the school.
000We receive most of our funding through membership dues, and although we have been the recipient of donations from various corporate sponsors, our primary support comes from you, our alumni, who join the Association.
000We do not have massive funds, but we have learned to be resourceful. We were able to have Tiffany & Co., which has hired many graduates from our school over the years, contribute to our Alumni Art Show in 1991 and to the student fashion show in 1995. The Alumni Association raised unprecedented funds for that event by creating a program for the fashion show and selling ads in the program. We also procured numerous art books, art magazine subscriptions, and museum gift memberships for door prizes at our art reception, received donations from the Strathmore paper company for our invitations, and also arranged a rent-free fundraising event at Kodak's ICP gallery, in exchange for a technical demonstration.
000The Alumni Association has long been a grass-roots organization and has an erratic history. Many of us recall ads in our yearbooks saying, "A dollar will be a lifetime membership", and saw years go by following graduation without a word of contact. But the tide began to change in the mid-1980s. A new group of volunteers emerged. The group included two faculty members, and they worked hard to re-establish the association. A 25th anniversary celebration was held at Art & Design in 1985, bringing together many graduates who had not been seen or heard from in decades. And in October 1990, a major fundraising was held at the National Arts Club, where more than 370 alumni attended, some of whom flew in from across the country for the event. The president of the association then retired and passed the baton on to a new group of volunteers.
000In an effort to catch up with years of struggle and turnover, we chose to make the effort to become a tax-exempt, not-for-profit corporation. We sought the help of the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts for the process, and with input from the Stuyvesant High School Alumni Association, received our Letter of Determination in August 1995.
000On October 4, 2001, the Art and Design Alumni Association held the largest reunion in alumni history in honor of our school's 65th birthday, the Grand Reunion.Over 600 alumni and faculty attended. It was a major undertaking and one that required many hands and hearts to become a reality.
___In 2006 our school will celebrate its 70th birthday, and the Alumni Assocation plans to hold another major fundraising celebration. We hope to see you there, and we hope you will help support our work to assure the future of the High School of Art & Design.
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 1993 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 our 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.
____In 2005 we added a fifth award -- The Maus Fund Award for Excellence in Visual Narrative -- thanks to a generous gift from alumnus Art Spiegelman, Class of 1965.
____In 2006 a sixth was 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 $150 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.

-----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.