NEWS
NOTES
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Summer 2014
Wiesenberger award. “His lectures are
filledwith exquisite and timely exam-
ples drawn from historical sources,
contemporary art and the news and
images of the times.Each is painstak-
ingly structured to provide a focused
experience for students.”
Although Schantz has enjoyed a
successful, award-winning, decades-
long teaching career, it wasn’t always a
profession he had dreamed of entering.
His first choice, pursuing a career
in advertising design, required a degree
from a college inPhiladelphia.Tuition
at an art institute was too expensive
for his family, but teaching jobs were
plentiful and educators were in
demand.Eventually, teaching became
his focus, and after graduating in
1966, Schantz went on to earn a
master’s andPh.D. in art education
at the Pennsylvania StateUniversity,
courtesy of a fellowship.
“Along the way, Imet inspiring role
models at all levels ofmy education,
colleagues too,”Schantz said. “They
were dynamic, extremely dedicated,
selfless, always prepared and enthusias-
tic.Theymademe want towork as
hard as I could. I learned a lot about
being a teacher frommy students too.”
On Nov. 22, 2013, Schantz’s for-
mer students, former
colleagues and friends
gathered in the Sharadin
Arts Building at a recep-
tion following the annual
Art Education Confer-
ence. It was then that
the Thomas F. Schantz
classroomwas dedicated.
“Dr. Schantz had an
exemplary teaching career, educating
thousands of students through the
years,” saidDr.WilliamMowder, dean
of theCollege of Visual andPerform-
ingArts. “His efforts in the classroom
did not go unnoticed.”
Teaching responsibilities were
only one component of Schantz’s
multifaceted career.As director of
ClassroomDedicated to LongtimeArt Educator
I
magine, at 25, securing a coveted
tenure track teaching position at
the same institution you graduated
from only three years earlier.
Suddenly, the professors who
taught you as a student in their classes
are now your colleagues.
ForDR.TOM SCHANTZ ’66,
who earned his bachelor’s degree in
art education at Kutztown, this was
the sometimes awkward reality.
“That first year was very uncom-
fortable,”he laughed. “Even though I
wore a tie, I was sometimesmistaken
for a student when I would attend to
business at campus offices.”
Only five years later, Schantzwas
elected chair of the art education and
crafts department.
In 2003, Schantzwas selected to
receiveKutztown’s prestigious Arthur
and IsabelWiesenberger Award for
Excellence inTeaching, given annual-
ly to onemember of the university’s
faculty.That same year he was award-
ed the PennsylvaniaArt Educator of
theYear Award by theNational Art
EducationAssociation.
“Tom’s classes are a true wonder,”
saidDr. JohnWhite,KU professor
and chair of the art education and
crafts department, in support of
Schantz’s nomination for the
Cutting the ribbon for a
classroom named in his
honor areDr. Tom
Schantz ’66 (center),
Dr. Cevallos (left) and
Dr.WilliamMowder,
Dean of theCollege of
Visual andPerforming
Arts (right).
the SharadinArtGallery (renamed
theMarlin andReginaMiller Art
Gallery in 2012), he did not hesitate
to pick up the phone and call muse-
ums to obtainworld class exhibits.
During his tenure, theMuseum of
ContemporaryCrafts (renamed
theMuseum of Arts andDesign
in 2002) opened two exhibitions
in their entirety at Kutztown
immediately after their showings
inManhattan.
Annually, in the years 1973
through 1997, Schantz produced
the popular International Ani-
mated Film Festival in Schaeffer
Auditorium. Animated shorts
fromworldwide festivals were
first shown to an audience of only
104.However, at its height the
festival captivated nearly 4,000
viewers, requiring eight separate
screenings.
Although he formally retired
from teaching in 2004, his schedule
today is busier than ever.
Amember of the board of
directors forTheKutztownArea
Historical Society and the Berks
HeritageCouncil, he also designs
and leads international art and
architecture tours.On the speaking
circuit, he gives
presentations on
Iroquois beadwork
and architecture
of the 1920s opulent
movie palaces,
includingGrauman’s
ChineseTheatre
inHollywood and
Rockefeller Center
inNewYork.
All these years later, does he ever
regret foregoing the glamorousworld
of advertising for the classroom?
Not for aminute.
“I gladly devotedmy life tomy
students,”Schantz declared.
“Memories of interactions inmy
classes nourishme to this day.”
“I gladlydevoted
my life to
my students.”
— DR. TOM SCHANTZ ’66
