From an early age, SANDRA L. CORPORA ’69 demonstrated exceptional ability at drawing and painting. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Kutztown State College in 1969. She worked in advertising, illustration and design until starting her career at Rodale, Inc., where she was promoted to creative director in 1978. The 50-person department she led created all the sales and marketing materials for Rodale’s magazines and books. During her career at Rodale, she served on the board of the Girls Club of Allentown, the Catholic Social Agency and the Kemmerer Museum. Sandra became a full-time artist in 1990. She studied with some recognized professional painters and worked at her craft to refine her skills. Among her recognitions, Sandra is a signature member of Oil Painters of America, where she won an Award of Excellence, among others. Sandra teaches and conducts workshops and has been a juror for several regional and national exhibitions, and has curated exhibitions. Her work is in private and public collections worldwide, including KU, where her portrait of former president Javier Cevallos hangs in the Hall of Presidents. As part of her commitment to the next generation of artists, Sandra established the Sandra Corpora ’69 Presidential Scholarship for Art Studies in 2007. She also generously funded the annual Summer Workshop Scholarships for KU students to have the opportunity to work with nationally recognized artists in professional studios. In 2021 she established the Skye’s The Limit Emergency Fund for students needing basic assistance while attending Kutztown. PLACIDO “PAT” A. CORPORA is currently president of Corpora Consulting, a consulting service focusing on direct response strategy and implementation. During his 20-year career at Rodale, Inc., and as president of Rodale Books, he guided the group to industry-leading growth through intensive research, innovative product development and creative customer acquisition efforts, featuring the most advanced direct-to-consumer database techniques in publishing. As senior vice president of Marketing at AOL, he applied innovative direct-to-consumer database segmentation, aggressive online marketing and enhanced customer service registration methods that allowed AOL to achieve record membership levels. Lastly, as CEO at HCI Direct, Pat took a one-dimensional hosiery company and transformed it into a vibrant multi-product organization. Pat is a graduate of Moravian University and a current member of the university’s Board of Trustees. He also sits on the loan committee of the Rising Tide Community Loan Fund. During the growing season, he organizes work at the Burnside Plantation Garden that delivers fresh produce to local food pantries. He has raised nearly $150,000 by participating in the 500-mile Pennsylvania Perimeter Ride Against Cancer. Along with his two sisters, he established an endowed scholarship at Moravian that is awarded to first-generation students. Sandra and Pat are founding members of the KU Arts Society and continue to generously support KU philanthropically. They’ve established a Charitable Donor Advised Fund that supports organizations focused on education, human services, animal welfare, wildland conservation, alternative transportation, historic preservation and the visual and performing arts.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzcxOTE=