Foundation & Development
Patti Hutinger
Hutinger Gift Supports Visiting Artist Fund at WIU through 2013
Longtime arts supporter, activist and humanitarian, Patricia Hutinger
made a commitment Monday to support the Western Illinois University art
department's Visiting Artist Fund through 2013. Hutinger's gift is made
in honor of her son, Scott Hutinger, who passed away in June 2007.
Hutinger has been an active patron of Western's art department, Art Gallery and most recently, the Student
Art League. For many years, the retired WIU faculty member has been
contributing to funds for supplies, equipment and materials, as well as
donating gifts of artwork.
"I see myself as an artist and spend
a good deal of time around the department, taking classes and getting
to know the students. I'm interested in providing some of the resources
the department's budget does not allow for -- things that really make a
difference to both students and faculty."
The Visiting Artist
Fund enables the department to bring in at least one outside visiting
professional each year for lectures, demonstrations and classes, noted
Charles Wright, art department chair. Hutinger first supported the
Visiting Artist Fund Initiative in 2009, he added.
"I've talked
to many students about what makes a difference to them, and they all
think the opportunity to listen to and see the work of an artist from
the outside is a really good experience," Hutinger said.
"We
are appreciative of Patti's gifts to the college over the past several
years," said College of Fine Arts
and Communication (COFAC) Dean Paul Kreider. "This gift further
illuminates her loyalty to Western's art program and to the art
community," he added.
"I speak for the entire art department in
stating we are all very pleased Patti has chosen to continue her
kindness to the department in this very generous way," added Wright.
"Throughout the years, Patti's contributions have made it possible
for the department to fund a variety of speakers and sponsor numerous
artists' presentations. The significance of her generosity is that it
can help to shape and enliven the teaching and learning environment in
WIU's art program."
Hutinger retired from Western in 2008; she
was a professor of early childhood education. In 1975, she founded
Macomb Projects, which later became the Center for Best Practices in
Early Childhood Education, a service unit in the College of Education and Human
Services (COEHS) at Western.
According to Joyce Johanson,
associate director of the Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood
Education, the mission of the Center is to develop and promote practices
designed to improve educational opportunities for all young children.
"Patti was an extremely successful grant writer. She was
recognized as a national leader in cutting-edge research and development
projects targeting young children with special needs. Her contributions
to the field of early childhood included innovative research and
development projects, particularly those related to technology and
adaptive devices," Johanson added.
Hutinger's son, Scott,
worked as a computer specialist for the Center for Best Practices in
Early Childhood Education. He received his bachelor's and master's
degrees from WIU and was a certified flight instructor, avid pilot and
skydiver.
He is survived by two children, Jordan and Kelsey
Bucholtz, and their mother, Karen Bucholtz. Hutinger noted that support
of the Visiting Artist Fund and her other gifts are all in memory of
Scott.
"Scott and I shared a love of art, and this seemed to
be a meaningful way to honor him," Hutinger said. "I hope others will
take the opportunity to support departments with enhancements to their
instruction. Budgets are so tight, and many areas go without some basic
stuff. I just want to help students get the best experience they can at
Western and provide faculty with some of the things they need to enhance
instruction."
Wright noted that in a time of dwindling funds
for the arts on a national scale, Hutinger's gift means a great deal to
Western's students, as well as to the entire regional arts community.
"It gives the department's newly formed Visiting Artist/Scholar
Committee the ability to plan for and select ever more significant
artists and scholars to bring to the Macomb community. Thanks to Patti,
we are able to add this element of a lecture series to the art
department's program," Wright added.
"I've been lucky to get to
know quite a few students. It's fun to see their work and to watch how
they grow," Hutinger said. "I learn so much from the students. Isn't
that just how it should be?"
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