Athens, Ga. (September 11, 2007) – The Georgia Boardroom at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel was recently renamed for Betty Jean Craige, director of the Jane and Harry Willson Center for Humanities and Arts and University Professor of comparative literature at UGA. A dedication ceremony and reception was held September 6 at the Georgia Center.

Craige, who has taught at the University since 1973, donated 23 pieces of art, including lithographs, drawings and sculptures by Spanish artist Alvar Suñol, to the Georgia Center Foundation. The works will be permanently displayed in the Craige Boardroom and along the hallway outside the boardroom.

“I wanted to share Alvar’s art with the whole university community, so I gave the gift to the Georgia Center where the art can be seen for many, many years to come,” Craige said.
Craige, who is co-founder and co-director of the Delta Prize for Global Understanding, has published two art books about Alvar and, along with Alan Stecker, a retired UGA telecommunications faculty member in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, produced “Alvar Suñol: His Vision and His Art,” a 42-minute documentary awarded first place in the short documentary category by the 2006 Indie Gathering film festival.
Alvar has exhibited lithographs, paintings, watercolors, drawings, engravings, sculptures and ceramics in galleries and museums throughout the United States, Europe and Japan. He created “Plenitud,” which hangs permanently in the Georgia Center’s Pecan Tree Galleria, for UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

“We are so delighted that Betty Jean Craige has decided to make a contribution and we’re very pleased to name the boardroom after her,” said Robert Leiter, Georgia Center director. “To have this collection in the boardroom will make it very special because Betty Jean and Alvar are very good friends and it has a very special meaning to anyone who loves art and knows Betty Jean.”
The Georgia Center, celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2007, is a unit of the University of Georgia’s Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach. The Center provides innovative lifelong learning opportunities through its continuing education programs. On UGA’s campus, the Georgia Center includes a full-service hotel with 200 rooms and suites, restaurants, banquet areas, conference rooms, auditoriums, a fitness center, and a computer lab — all under one roof. For more information go to www.georgiacenter.uga.edu.
# #

This article was posted on Tuesday, September 11th, 2007 at 1:09 pm and is filed under News.