Distinguished Educators in the Arts, 2001
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Barron Storey is a real teacher. I say this with great admiration and some envy. Seven years ago when I accepted the offer to chair the Illustration Department at the California College of Arts and Crafts, the first call I made was to Barron.
I had heard he had recently resigned from a local art school in principled high dudgeon. This is nothing new: Barron is nothing if not passionately committed when it comes to teaching his vocation, illustration. I begged him to come out of his self-imposed retirement and help me build a decent program. After asking a lot of questions and extracting from me some commitments of my own, he accepted. I have since told the school's administration, the students, our faculty, and him, many times, that I might be able to run the department without him, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to. He keeps the students alert and excited and the department honest. In fact if not quite in title, I'm exceedingly proud that he's my co-chair. This is who he is: Whenever I hang out at the bar in the Society of Illustrators building in New York and we're telling war stories and such, if I mention Barron as my colleague at CCAC, I am immediately surrounded by people saying with pride, "Barron was my teacher." And they say it the way a cellist might say, "Pablo Casals was my teacher." Never mind that they had a dozen or so other teachers during their college days, Barron had clearly made the biggest impact on them. We then have a fine time telling each other wildly improbable Storey stories on into the night. Legend is a wildly overused word. It's misapplied to one-hit wonders and ephemeral commodities, so I hesitate to use the word, even when it applies. Nevertheless, as an illustrator and mentor, to me as well as hundreds of our colleagues, Barron Storey is a truly legendary example. Dugald Stermer |
I met Tom Allen for the first time six years ago when he became the Chairman of our illustration department here at Ringling School of Art and Design. Through Tom's work and friendship, it seems like I've known him forever.
His homespun manner envelopes this man of great curiosity and wisdom that touches all he encounters. This Legendary Trail Blazer of Illustration has always taken the time to give back so much to his profession through the classroom. The impact of Tom's legendary teaching history spans over 40 years from the School of Visual Arts' first illustration courses to the formation of Syracuse's Master's programs in Illustration and Graphic Design. The educator, Tom Allen, has had an academic impact of enormous proportions. The list of his past students reads like a Who's Who of illustration. His teaching technique is to approach each student as an individual and to bring out his or her personal strengths. This pedagogy and his openness are the keys to his great success. He always welcomes the new, yet embraces the formalities of tradition. These are the characteristics of great leaders, thinkers and educators, all of which are Tom Allen. Regan Dunnick |