VCUQatar Professor Wins SECAC Award for Excellence in Teaching

The SECAC Award for Excellence in Teaching is given in recognition of outstanding teaching by a SECAC member who demonstrates an exceptional command of his or her discipline through the ability to teach effectively, impart knowledge, and inspire students. Ruth Bolduan was one of two winners this year. Jurors noted that the evidence in Bolduan’s nomination packet showed her to be an excellent and inventive teacher, with impressive commitment to the fundamentals of painting and extensive departmental service.

The Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC) annual awards program recognizes exemplary work in the visual arts in higher education. The SECAC Award for Excellence in Teaching is one of five Awards of Excellence presented each year at the annual SECAC Conference. The other awards are in the areas of Scholarly Research and Publication, Outstanding Artistic Achievement, Outstanding Exhibition and Catalogue of Historical Materials, and Outstanding Exhibition and Catalogue of Contemporary Materials.

“I am deeply honored to receive this prestigious award from SECAC in recognition of my teaching and deeply indebted to my excellent students for making it possible,” said Bolduan. “I believe that my students and I work together for the love of making paintings, and I am particularly happy to be here in Doha this year, sharing ideas, images, and experiences with the dedicated and creative students in our Painting and Printmaking Department.”

Ruth Bolduan grew up in Germany and the Washington, DC area and has traveled throughout Europe, South America, and China. In 1980, she earned an MFA in Painting from The American University in Washington, DC and was awarded the Kreeger Purchase Prize. Since then, her work has been exhibited throughout the country and internationally, and she has been the recipient of many grants, awards, and residencies. Last year she received a prestigious painting commission from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Ruth Bolduan is a Professor of Painting and Drawing at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Richmond, Virginia, where she lives and maintains a studio. Currently, she is teaching at VCUQatar for the 2011-2012 Academic Year.

Founded in 1942 as a regional conference, today SECAC (Southeastern College Art Conference) is a non-profit organization that promotes the study and practice of the visual arts in higher education on a national basis. SECAC facilitates cooperation and fosters on-going dialog about pertinent creative, scholarly and educational issues among teachers and administrators in universities, colleges, community colleges, professional art schools, and museums; and among independent artists and scholars. Membership includes individuals and institutions from the original group of southeastern states that founded the conference: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Over the decades, however, SECAC has grown to include individual and institutional members from across the United States, becoming the second largest national organization of its kind. SECAC is an affiliated organization of the national College Art Association and participates in its annual conferences.