During Family Weekend & Homecoming, alumni got a tour of the raw space that will soon house the MindMarket.

Columbus College of Art & Design is in the early stages of a new endeavor that will change how the college engages its students and alumni with entrepreneurship and the business world.

The program, called the CCAD MindMarket, will have many facets including business partnerships, charrettes, and a business incubator—which is about to enter its beta phase with a few alumni.

Only offered to CCAD alumni and students, the business incubator will assist entrepreneurs in launching their start-up companies by providing space and services that a new business owner might not otherwise have access to.

“The business incubator is designed to provide a comprehensive resource center for small, start-up businesses aimed at accelerating growth and increasing the business’s potential for long-term success by leveraging the resources at CCAD,”  said Cynthia Gravino, executive director of the MindMarket initiative. “We are able to provide physical space, basic office equipment, and office support for a fraction of what these tenants would pay if they tried to do this on their own.”

“More importantly, we will be providing our incubator tenants mentorship opportunities with industry experts, seasoned entrepreneurial artists and designers, as well as important links to the entrepreneurial community.  By having an incubator on campus, our tenants will not only have a home-base within our creative community—they will also have the opportunity to engage and embrace the energy and shared learning that is created by working with other creative start-ups and professionals. They can bounce ideas off of each other, as well as tap into the talent that is on campus.”

Incubator tenants will also have access to a network of professionals in areas outside the scope of art and design that are imperative to the success of a start-up, such as accountants and lawyers who can provide the expertise needed to navigate issues like business filings, intellectual property protection, and tax liability.

Eventually the MindMarket and its incubator program will be housed on the ground floor of Design Studios on Broad. While renovations continue on that space, the college is recruiting a select few alumni to engage in a beta test of the program to be housed in the Loann Crane Center for Design.

An email was recently sent to alumni announcing the opportunity. More than 40 alumni responded. Applications will be evaluated through December with the expectation that two beta tenants will move into their office space in early January.

During the beta phase each participant will be provided with a cubical-office space, access to meeting rooms, a computer, internet access, fax, copier, access to support personnel, and access to CCAD’s entrepreneurial support network and partners, such as TechColumbus and the Columbus State Small Business Development Center.

Since the full range of services will not be available during the beta phase, participants will be given reduced rates for their participation.  Once the full program is launched, all tenants will pay the same fees.

“By doing a beta run we can see how the program works as it is currently modeled, and we can adjust as needed,” said Gravino. “We can identify services that should be added or those that, perhaps, are not necessary.”

The incubator program is just one part of the MindMarket. Career Services is working closely with Vice President of Academic Affairs Kevin Conlon to develop curriculum that will dovetail into MindMarket-run business partnerships. In addition, plans include the development of charrettes, which will allow students to work with organizations on short-term design challenges.

“The goal,” said Gravino, “is to arm our graduates with the business savvy they need as creative professionals. Anyone who applies themselves can learn sound businesses practices. The same cannot be said of creativity—and that is what our alumni and students bring to the boardroom table.”

A student talks to an alum during the phone-a-thon.

Very recently CCAD students participated in the second annual phone-a-thon to touch base with our alumni and raise money for student scholarships.

Every evening for three weeks, a gaggle of students took over staff offices and diligently made calls. During this time they got responses that ranged from humorous to inspiring, and sometimes just really, really cool. Here is a sample of what we heard:

Best reason to get off the phone: Going into labor! (We wanted to follow up, but decided that might be a bit too intrusive.)

Coolest reason alum couldn’t talk: On a movie set, ready to shoot.

Most interesting reason to decline giving a monetary donation: One alumnus explained that he had taken a vow of poverty—he is literally a monk living in a monastery. Peace, brother!

Blake Roberts, a junior majoring in Advertising & Graphic Design, said the coolest thing he heard during the phone-a-thon was an alumnus describing how he “bit the bullet and moved to New York and is making life work.”

Blake said, “For some reason, I really respected that specific designer’s gumption to just pick up and MAKE life happen for themselves, not LET life happen. I appreciated knowing that there IS a career for me.”

Throughout the campaign many alumni were kind enough to ask the students who they talked with to stay in touch. Thank you for that!

Did you get a call from a CCAD student about the Annual Fund Drive?  If so, share here what it was like to talk to a current student from your alma mater.

Alumna Kristi Kalkman's font created for Victoria's Secret

We do our best to get most of the news you submit to us onto the CCAD News Blog, but since there are more than 10,000 of you making news all over the world, not everything can make it into the blog. We’re glad to have another venue where we can share everything with you—this newsletter’s classnotes.

You, too, can submit classnotes via the easy-to-use form on the alumni landing page. We only post career-related successes, awards, exhibitions, and publications, but we’d also love to know when you move, get married, or have children—just use that same form.

Now, without further ado, your classnotes from September, October, and November (2011).

William Walker (CCAD, 1953) was featured in a Chicago Sun-Times article about the mark he left on the city with his murals; read more here.

Ben Mahan (CCAD, Illustration, 1965) participated in the 16th International Competition of Illustration in Italy. Read more here.

Robert Tavani (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1985) participated in an exhibition at the Cummings Art Gallery featuring recent works from members of the Mercyhurst College Art Department. He showed oil paintings including both portraits and landscapes.

Anthony Baker (CCAD, Illustration, 1986) was appointed the team lead, medical illustrator at The Ohio State University’s health science library.

Christopher Yates ( CCAD, Fine Arts, 1987), Steve Bush (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1994), Hiroshi Hayakawa (CCAD, Photography, 1995), Casey Bradley (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2001), Mariana Smith (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2002), Tina Matthews (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2003), Lauren Mudd (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2004), Mylesant Carreno (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2005), Brandon Noblet (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2005), and Nicki Strouss ( CCAD, Fine Arts, 2008) all were involved in the exhibition Crossroads. Read more here.

Julie Abijanac (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1992) had work in a two-person exhibition with Dean of Faculty Char Norman. Read more here.

Steve Bush (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1994) was commissioned for a public art piece in Creekside Plaza (Gahanna, Ohio). Read more here.

Craig Swoboda (CCAD, Illustration, 1994) took the position of package creative manager at Anheuser-Busch Inc.

Nathan Greno (CCAD, Illustration, 1996) won the Joseph V. Canzani Alumni Award for Excellence. Read more here.

Kelly Weik (CCAD, Illustration, 1996) was featured as artist of the month in the Chicago-based company Faux by Kathy.

Michael Auger (CCAD, Illustration, 1998) was featured in DC Conspiracy magazine. Read more here.

Johnny Yanok (CCAD, Illustration, 1998) was featured in an exhibition at Rivet Gallery in the Short North (Columbus, Ohio). Read more here.

Josh Sutton (CCAD, Illustration, 2000) was featured in a (614) magazine article detailing his work as a freelance toy sculptor.

Matthew Klos (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2001) had an exhibition at the Still Life Gallery in Ellicott City, MD, this fall.

Ryan Green (CCAD, Media Studies, 2003) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (CCAD, Media Studies, 2005) were both hired as story artists at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Read more here.

Jen Chapman (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 2004) and her company, Redsnapper Baby & Toddler, were featured in HOW magazine. Read more here.

Holly Koskinen’s (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 2005) freelance agency won a 2011 American Graphic Design Award.

Molly Burke (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2006) participated in the Sculpture X Symposium and its 2011 fall juried exhibition in Cleveland, OH. Read more here.

Justin Cohen (CCAD, Industrial Design, 2006) won a 2010 Good Design award.

Kendra L. Meyer (CCAD, Fashion Design, 2007) has joined Albright College as assistant professor of fashion design.

Angela Svarda (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2008) was in ArtSpan’s 2011 SF Open Studios in San Francisco. Read more here.

Christie S. Craven (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 2009) is now working as a web designer for Direct Brands/Columbia House in Manhattan and also started her own venture, www.samplesaleavenue.com.

Kristi Kalkman (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 2010) created a font for a Victoria’s Secret campaign. Read more here.

Catherine Proctor (CCAD, Media Studies, 2010) had images published in The Ohio State University Dance Department’s annual magazine, InFORM.

Alex Alvarado (CCAD, Illustration, 2011) received a job as a look development artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Read more here.

Eric Coolidge (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2011) was featured on the Ohio Department of Education website to promote National Arts in Education Week. Read more here.

Ryan Monroe (CCAD, Photography, 2011) did the photography for the 10^th anniversary calendar for a restaurant in Columbus, OH. Read more here.

In Memoriam:

Walker, Steve (CCAD, 1970) Obituary here.

William, Walker (CCAD, 1953) Obituary here.