Presentation Remarks:

“Mad, as a high-achieving scholar and B.F.A. graduate in studio art, you have presided over a remarkable marriage of the realms of thinking and the realms of making.  In one of the many nominations you received for this medal, a teacher, in what appears to be a typographical error or an extraordinarily perceptive metaphor, calls you a ‘studio arts mayor.’ Indeed, at Denison you have been a kind of mayor of the arts in that your work embraces a great metropolis of varying forms of artistic media. It explores the interdisciplinary nature of printmaking by incorporating drawing, photography, sculpture, digital technology, and ceramics to create works that your printmaking instructor calls ‘astute, elegant, and cutting the same edges of leading contemporary artists.’ Your artwork has resulted in a wide array of honors, including two summers as a Young Scholar, numerous prizes in competitions, and, most recently, your selection by the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio as one of six award winners in their Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts.

“You have also incorporated music and dance in your artistic repertoire, performing as violinist in the Denison University Symphony Orchestra, as fiddler in the Bluegrass Ensemble, and as creator of a lengthy film for a work produced by the Dance department in response to Katrina. 

“In addition, you have served as three-time leader of the DEUCE orientation program in Philadelphia, as admissions representative, as resident of the Homestead, as leader in the Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Weeks, and as Gilpatrick Head Resident — all contributing to your selection as a 2008 recipient of the Denison Distinguished Service Award.

“Mad, congratulations on your acceptance with a full ride to the MFA printmaking program at the Sam Fox School of Design at Washington University. As you embark on this next leg of your journey in thinking and making, be assured that we are proud to have been part of your remarkable accomplishments at Denison, knowing they are but prelude of what is to come.”

Student Achievements:

Dean's List; Distinguished Leadership Award; Honors Program; Phi Society; Mary E. Carr Scholarship; Alumnae Endowed Scholarship; Arcadia University Scholarship (Study Abroad); Jeanne Vail Fine Arts Scholarship; Frederick T. Holden Endowed Scholarship; Denison Young Scholar Award; Phi Society; 2006 Five Colleges of Ohio Student Biennial Juried Art Exhibition (Merit Award); Department of Art - Teaching Assistant; Denison Symphony Orchestra - Violinist; DEUCE Orientation - Student Staff Leader; Bluegrass Ensemble; Honors Mentor; Homeless and Hunger Awareness Week; Breakaway Program - Tahlequah, Okla.; Denison Democrats; Office of Admissions - Student Panelist, E-Pal Participant, Overnight Host