Emeritus Faculty Biographies

Curtis Benzle, Fine Arts professor emeritus, has been awarded fellowships by the Ohio Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts for his sculptural works in porcelain. He is past board president and executive director of Ohio Designer Craftsmen and has been a trustee of the American Craft Council. His work is included in many public and private collections including the White House, the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American Art, and the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art. He has held residencies at Syracuse University and the Seto Center for Ceramics and Glass in Japan. He has participated in more than 100 solo and group exhibitions throughout the world and has work represented in 20 books on the field of contemporary ceramics. He continues to lecture nationwide on his work, the business of art, and professional practices. In addition to his personal expression, Mr. Benzle also operates a ceramics studio producing porcelain home accessories for gift shops in galleries nationwide. BFA, The Ohio State University; MA, Northern Illinois University.

Dennis Drummond, Fine Arts professor emeritus, served as chair of the Drawing and Printmaking department and Faculty Council president. He has exhibited widely and his paintings are held in numerous collections. He has twice been recognized in Who's Who Among American Teachers. BFA, Cleveland Institute of Art; MFA, Syracuse University.

Charles Herndon, Fine Arts professor emeritus, shows his work at galleries in Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and in a gallery and sculpture garden he built on Kelleys Island. He is a stone carver, frequently using stones found near his Lake Erie studio and gallery complex. He also works in glass, wood, and metal, and is a painter and photographer. His stone sculptures address geologic time and process, human touch and response, and the formal attributes and associations of the figure. His photographs reflect the manifestations of time passing and natural process found on and about the island. His paintings deal with language, perception, and physical response as a key to intellectual and emotional involvement. His pieces have been purchased for many public and private collections. BFA, Cleveland Institute of Art; BA, Case Western Reserve University; MFA, Syracuse University. Web site: www.charlesherndon.com

Edward Lense, Liberal Arts professor emeritus, taught creative writing and English before his retirement. He has been awarded fellowships by the Ohio Arts Council in criticism (1993 and 2002), and in poetry (2002). BA, New York University; MA, Ph.D., The Ohio State University. 

Kathryn Livermore, Liberal Arts professor emeritus, writes short stories and has been published in the North American Review, The Carleton Miscellany, and The Greensboro Review. BA, Duke University; MA, Ph.D., Yale University.

Lowell Tolstedt, Fine Arts professor emeritus, retired from CCAD after more than 35 years and serving as dean of the division of Fine Arts since 1981. He has work in a number of collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institute, the Columbus Museum of Art, the Evansville Museum of Art, and the Minnesota Museum of Art. He has received three Individual Artist Fellowships from the Ohio Arts Council, and was awarded a Visual Artist Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1983. BFA, University of South Dakota; MA, University of Iowa.