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Professor Ron Pederson Named Educator of the Year by ISC |
| Text by Dan Treul, Student Contributing Writer |
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When Ron Pederson, chair of the Art Department at Aquinas College, got a phone call from the International Sculpture Center (ISC) last year, he “honestly thought they were calling me for having allowed my membership to lapse.” Instead, the ISC was calling to honor Pederson as its 2008 Educator of the Year.
The prestigious award was conferred upon the sculptor at the ISC’s 21st International Sculpture Conference at the Fredrik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park on Oct. 3. Pederson, who came to Aquinas in the early 1980s with his wife, fellow professor and artistic collaborator Miriam Pederson, says that despite his own work, he views teaching as “the most important and exciting part of a person’s life.” |
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| “The Aquinas community is kind of what church is supposed to be,” says Pederson. “Counting on each other and being counted upon. When you accept help when you need it, that’s how you experience the grace of God. And I think that’s what we do here.” |
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| Pederson, who began his artistic journey in sculpture following his completion of three minors in mathematics, psychology and Christianity, strives to emphasize what he calls the “intensity of the artist.” |
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| “I believe that everything that an artist does - even if it’s not religious - has a spiritual element, so long as it’s crafted with intensity.” |
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Photo Gallery: ISC Educator of the Year Award presented to Professor Pederson |
| October 3, 2008 |
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Dr. C. Edward Balog, President of Aquinas College |
Johannah Hutchison, Executive Director of the ISC |
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Professor Ron Pederson |
Professor Pederson receives his award. |
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The Pederson Family |
The AQ Art Department Faculty |
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