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Home > Blogs > Arts and Entertainment > Archives > 2011 > October > 20 > Entry
Hanks applauds WSU’s state arts honor
Film star Tom Hanks offered his congratulations by video on Thursday, Oct. 20, when several arts programs at Wright State University were designated an Ohio Center of Excellence by the state Board of Regents.
The departments of art, art history, music, theater, dance and motion pictures are partners in WSU’s collective CELIA (Collaborative Education, Leadership & Innovation in the Arts), which has now been declared an Ohio Center for Excellence in Cultural and Societal Transformation.
The announcement was made by Jim Petro, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents. Music faculty member Hank Dahlman was named CELIA director.
Hanks, who wore a Wright State polo shirt, said the university “not only has one of the most outstanding arts programs in the state of Ohio, it has one of the best in the entire nation.”
He said he knows this “first hand” from working with graduates and students from the university.
To see and hear Hanks’ congratulations, go to http://webapp2.wright.edu/web1/newsroom/2011/10/20/tom-hanks-praises-wright-states-celia-and-arts-programs/
Besides the university’s annual Arts Gala, which has raised more than $1.3 million for arts scholarships, CELIA has spawned recent major productions that brought WSU students and faculty together with arts professionals.
Those have included the Academy Award-nominated 2010 documentary “The Last Truck,” a 2011 production of “Leonard Bernstein’s Mass” at the Schuster Center in Dayton and the Ohio premiere of the prize-winning drama “August: Osage County” at WSU’s Creative Arts Center.
Six other Wright State programs have previously been recognized centers of excellence in categories related to engineering, medicine and job creation. Those are its centers for Human-Centered Innovation, Medical Readiness, the WSU and Premier Health Partners Neuroscience Institute, Knowledge-Enabled Computing (Kno.e.sis), Product Reliability and Optimization, and Micro Air Vehicle Research.
Petro said Wright State’s collaborative endeavors in the fine and performing arts have significant economic impact on the community and the state.
WSU president David R. Hopkins said CELIA “will produce, attract and retain talent.”
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By Very Cool!
October 20, 2011 3:20 PM | Link to this
Spectacular comments from a great actor/director about a fantastic Wright State program and the university as a whole!