Lyme Academy College of
Fine Arts Appoints New President
Debra Petke to Assume Leadership Role November 1, 2007
August 3, 2007
 Old
Lyme, CT - The Board of Trustees of Lyme Academy College of Fine
Arts has appointed Debra Petke President, the third in the 30-year
history of the Institution.
Petke is currently Executive Director of the Mark Twain House &
Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, and has been affiliated with that
museum for 14 years. She will assume her new leadership role at the
College on November 1, 2007. Formal investiture will take place
after the new year.
Alan Proctor, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Lyme
Academy College of Fine Arts said “After a comprehensive national
search, the Board of Trustees has unanimously selected Debra Petke
to lead our College. Debra brings energy, extensive management and
external affairs’ experience in the non-profit arena, and strong
artistic sensibility from her training and teaching in art history.
Debra’s vision, leadership depth, devotion to the arts and personal
strengths make her the right leader to guide the College’s future as
an emerging national institution.”
“I am honored by the confidence placed in me by the Board of
Trustees, faculty, staff, alumni and students, and look forward with
enthusiasm to meeting more of the family of supporters of this fine
arts institution, a jewel in Connecticut’s cultural crown. Together,
we can envision a future where the College will grow and assume a
well-deserved and more prominent role on the national scene” said
Petke.
Debra Petke joined the Mark Twain House & Museum in 1993 as Director
of Education and was promoted steadily through her career there.
Prior to the Mark Twain House, Debra was Curator of Education at the
Wadsworth Atheneum for three years, and before that was an
Instructor in Art History at Hartford College for Women. She also
was an Adjunct Professor of Art History at Central Connecticut State
University and at the University of Hartford. Debra has a B.A. in
art history from Providence College and an M.A. with honors in art
history from UMass Amherst, with a concentration in American art and
architecture. She has been a frequent lecturer, writer, and exhibit
curator on a variety of art history topics, and has been a Visiting
Scholar at the New Britain Museum of American Art and a Visiting
Lecturer at Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London.
Frederick S. Osborne, current President of Lyme Academy College,
announced his retirement in 2006 and will step down at the end of
October 2007. He reflected “The greatest privilege of my five years
at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts has been working with so many
exceptional people to transform our original academy into a college
of fine arts with a growing national presence. Together, we have
created a distinctive culture for fine arts education based on
creativity, inspiration and discipline. I have been privileged to
lead this great institution, and am delighted that Debra Petke will
be my successor. She is an outstanding choice to lead Lyme Academy
College into the future.
Alan Proctor said “All of us in our College community join in
thanking Fred Osborne for his service. During his five years of
stewardship, he guided the College toward successful completion of
strategic goals, including growth in enrollment and endowment;
oversaw the completion of the new Administrative Center;
strengthened our administrative capacity; and now is overseeing a
smooth transition in leadership.”
In 1976 the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts was founded with the goal of
reinventing the art college and the education of artists. Elisabeth
Gordon Chandler established the school with accomplished artists as
faculty. They shared her vision to advance traditional techniques
and skills based on fundamentals of representational drawing,
sculpture and painting.
Today, as a BFA granting institution, Lyme Academy College has
become a pre-eminent destination for emerging artists, and is
exclusively devoted to representational teaching of the fine arts.
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| 6/11/07 Alyssa Monks Hired for
Adjunct Figure Painting Position
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After an extensive search, figure painter Alyssa Monks has been
hired part-time to teach a 3 credit course in Figure Painting. “We
had extraordinary applicants who met with students and faculty",
commented Dean Alan Barkley. "It was a very difficult decision
because of the high caliber of the candidates. We are delighted that
Alyssa will join our Lyme Academy College painting faculty this
fall.”
Alyssa Monks received her BA and MA from Boston College and her MFA
from the New York Academy of Figurative Art and exhibits extensively
and frequently in both the United States and London. She is
represented by the Sarah Bains Gallery in California and the DFN
Gallery in New York, holding separate solo shows in both galleries
in 2007. Alyssa Monks also teaches at the New York Academy of
Figurative Art.
The Race by Alyssa Monks - Oil on Linen 6' x 8' -2007
Alyssa will teach Figure Painting from 9:00 to 4:00 on Thursdays
during the Fall and Spring semesters
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