2010 graduates and families outside The Ohio Theatre

In honor of the 233 students who will receive diplomas at CCAD’s 132^nd annual spring commencement, we’ll be counting down the days to commencement by publishing interviews with our 10 Outstanding Seniors and we’ll be announcing the class valedictorian(s).

And while we don’t know who is at the top of the class just yet (final grades are yet to be submitted), we do know who has been named the outstanding seniors for 2011. They are: Jordan Edwards, Advertising & Graphic Design; Chelsea Mummert, Animation; Carolyn Martin, Fashion Design; Kenneth Aschliman, Fine Arts; Graham Erwin, Illustration; Phong Nguyen, Illustration; Ryan Slicer, Industrial Design; Justin Highlander, Interior Design; Taehee Lee, Media Studies; and Sean Blanton, Photography.

Also coming along for the commencement ride is alumnus Mike Altman (CCAD 2000), who will deliver the commencement address. Altman worked as a technical director in modeling and articulation on Pixar’s Academy Award winning Toy Story 3 and was also responsible for modeling and articulating all the 3D characters for Day & Night, the short at the beginning of the film, which was also nominated for an Academy Award. Learn more in our blog, Alumnus, Pixar Animator Slated to Deliver Commencement Address.

Check back Monday, May 2 as we introduce you to Illustration senior Graham Erwin. We’ll publish one a day (on school days) through Friday, May 13.

Katherine Adkins and Ken Aschliman, both seniors majoring in Fine Arts, and Pei Yin Chen, a senior majoring in Photography, are nominees for the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio (AICUO) Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts.

In addition to competing for a grand award, including a cash prize of $2,500, the students also are eligible to win a People’s Choice Award. Online voting opens to the general public at the end of February.

The competition recognizes outstanding senior artists from Ohio’s independent colleges. Portfolios of all artwork submitted by the student nominees are judged by independent college faculty, community artists, art journalists, and state legislators to determine Grand Award finalists. All nominees’ art portfolios are available for online viewing.

In addition to the Grand Award and the People’s Choice Award, five student nominees will receive awards as competition finalists at a public reception on April 13th at Ohio Wesleyan University.