GCSF beneficiaries and benefactors pose as a group at the Hearst Tower on June 18

Higher education is expensive, and as most students discover, finding the money to pay for it can turn into a preoccupation. That’s why scholarship funds exist: to take away some of the financial pressure so that the focal point of students’ lives can be their academic pursuits, not anxiety about tuition bills.

The Graphic Communication Scholarship, Award and Career Advancement Foundation (GCSF) has been providing this kind of philanthropic relief for 13 years, and on June 18, the group disbursed a record amount of it to metro area students enrolled in or about to enter college-level graphic studies programs. The awards ceremony at the Hearst Tower in Manhattan saw the presentation of more than $100,000 worth of stipends to 31 recipients, the largest distribution that GCSF has made since its founding in 2002.

The money consisted of grants from 20 individual scholarship funds coordinated by GCSF, a 501(c)3 corporation that acts as an umbrella organization for the financial support of graphics education in the metro area. Ten of the scholarships were provided by the Advertising Production Club of New York (APC-NY). The rest were grants from industry groups and clubs or funds named in memory of prominent industry figures.

David Luke (at lectern), who served as president of GCSF from 2012 to 2014, officiates with the help of Jerry Mandelbaum, the foundation’s current president

To date, GCSF has presented $526,000 in scholarships to 131 students attaining academic degrees in graphic arts, design, production, and related subjects at some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities for these disciplines. Students in undergraduate and graduate programs can apply for grants, and many have received more than one stipend during their time in school.

Unique among printing industry scholarship funds in being established and operated entirely by uncompensated volunteers, GCSF does all of its own fundraising and manages its business affairs without an external support staff. One hundred percent of the money it collects is given to metro area students—there are no deductions for overhead or administrative expenses.

Its selection committee determines eligibility for scholarships by evaluating applicants’ SAT scores, grade point averages, portfolios, and other criteria. GCSF also offers a student mentoring program and sponsors fundraising social events like the June 4 “Spring Fling” at Ogilvy & Mather.

Besides saluting recipients, GCSF’s annual scholarship awards ceremony celebrates graphic communications as a whole and the aspirations it nurtures. On June 18, student speakers Valerie Buonaiuto and Annie Wong shared their feelings about what being able to enter the field meant to them.

“Graphic arts is my healthy obsession,” said Buonaiuto, a Bayside High School graduate who is on her way to Adelphi University. Wong, who said she was the first member of her immediate family to attend college, sees graphic design as a “visual means of solving problems” that she is tackling in her studies at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Keynote speaker Cheryl Kahanec (EarthColor), a leading expert in digital print production, told the students that printing “is no longer just about putting ink on paper—it’s about delivering messages” in concert with other graphic media. She said that the scholarship recipients were fortunate to be entering the industry at an exciting time, and she thanked the volunteers of GCSF for helping to make this possible.

“They believe in you students and your futures,” Kahanec said.

Keynote speaker Cheryl Kahanec is thanked for her remarks by David Luke, Jerry Mandelbaum, and Mark Darlow

Tributes to absent friends were paid in the form of newly created memorial scholarships in the names of Stephen D. Server and Nina Wintringham. Server was a co-founder of the company that became Applied Graphics Technologies, which at one time was the world’s largest provider of publication prepress services. Wintringham is well remembered as a leader of graphics industry organizations and as an organizer of many of their most important activities.

Diane Romano (HudsonYards), GCSF second vice president, characterized Server as a “disciple of continuous improvement” whose innovations in electronic and digital prepress helped to transform magazine production. “He would be so thrilled to know his name is on a scholarship,” she said.

Strong emotion could be heard in the voice of Katerina Caterisano (Network Design and Communications Inc.) as she recalled working with Wintringham and others to found Women in Production (now part of the P3 network). She told the students that her friend’s advice to them would be, “Live a beautiful life, get educated, and pass your good fortunes along to others.”

Diane Romano (left) and Katerina Caterisano pay tribute to the memories of industry figures Stephen D. Server and Nina Wintringham

Each year, GCSF bestows its “Champion of Education” award on an industry member who has done exceptional work on behalf of academic study or professional development in graphic communications. Accepting it on June 18 was Patrick Henry, a journalist, an editor, and an educator who is also the creator of this blog. His advice to the students:

“Always be serious about your work.

“Never be content to give less than the best quality you are capable of delivering.

“Respect your deadlines, and stay absolutely focused on making things happen and getting things done.”

Do all of these things, Henry said, “and you have my word—you will succeed in this industry.”

Patrick Henry accepts GCSF’s “Champion of Education” award for 2015

GCSF’s current slate of officers includes Jerry Mandelbaum, president; Ellen Hurwitch, first vice president; Diane Romano, second vice president; Steve Kennedy, treasurer; and Nick Patrissi, secretary.

The foundation’s trustees are John Aaron, Mark Darlow, William Dirzulaitis, Vincent Forgione, David Garcia, Jack Kott, Richard Krassner, David Luke (also GCSF’s immediate past president), Jessie Ann Murphy, Linda Nahum, Jack Powers, Laura Reid, and Howard Weinstein.

GCSF enjoys the support of numerous individual and corporate donors. To become one of them, e-mail Jerry Mandelbaum.

Printing Industries Alliance president Timothy Freeman (second from left) accepts the Gamma Gold Key Award from Gamma Chapter, Gamma Epsilon Tau. The presenters are, from left, William Dirzulaitis (Printing Industries Alliance), Jack Powers (International Informatics Institute), and Prof. Frank Adae (New York City College of Technology)

By late May and early June, classes at most metro area schools are over—but the graphics industry’s efforts in support of education are just shifting into high gear. Two recent social events in New York City reaffirmed that the industry’s commitment to students of graphic communications is as strong as ever and that members of the industry enjoy showing their support in one another’s good company.

One event has long been a fixture on the industry’s convivial calendar, and the other is new. On May 28, as it has in nearly every year since 1956, the Gamma Chapter of the Gamma Epsilon Tau graphic arts honor society inducted new student members and presented Gamma Gold Key Awards to industry figures whose careers exemplify the values of education.

June 4 brought several hundred revelers to the New York headquarters of Ogilvy & Mather for a “Spring Fling” on behalf of the Graphic Communications Scholarship, Award and Career Advancement Foundation (GCSF), a group with a track record as imposing as its name in raising money for metro area graphics students preparing for careers in the field. This party, being held for the first time, heralded the upcoming GCSF event on June 18 at which students either attending or bound for colleges with graphic studies programs will receive their stipends for 2015.

Kathy Sandler, senior manager, content applications and digital workflow development at Penguin Random House, is honored with a Gamma Gold Key Award

The highlight of the May 28 gathering at the 101 Club in midtown Manhattan was the addition of Timothy Freeman and Kathy Sandler to the long and distinguished list of Gamma Gold Key Award recipients.

Freeman, a professional trade association executive, has been connected with the printing industry since 1984. He is the person primarily responsible for preserving and strengthening Printing Industries Alliance, the membership organization that unites printing companies and related businesses in New York State, northern New Jersey, and northwestern Pennsylvania.

Sandler’s 30-year career in magazine and book production technology epitomizes many of the most important advancements in those fields. She has held senior management positions at top publishing houses and has been a leader of most of the publishing industry’s principal trade groups for production professionals.

After the award presentations to Freeman and Sandler, a candlelight induction ceremony brought three more students into Gamma Chapter’s august ranks. This honor society aims to instill values that drive professional success and inspire a career-long commitment to supporting and serving the graphic arts industry.

First photo: Steve Caputo (left) received an award for his four decades of service as an instructor and a technician of graphic arts at New York City College of Technology. MaryAnn Biehl, chair of the school’s Department of Communication Design, joined in paying tribute. Second photo: the lighting of candles stands for the illuminating power of the graphic arts in the ceremony inducting City Tech students into Gamma Chapter, Gamma Epsilon Tau

Besides saluting students and industry leaders, the Gamma Gold Key Awards program also spotlights the role of New York City College of Technology (City Tech) as a leading center of graphics education for the metro region. Gamma Epsilon Tau’s Chapter’s Gamma Chapter is located there as an activity within the Department of Communication Design (COMD), an undergraduate program that has been training people for careers in graphics for more than 60 years.

The department, formerly focused on advertising design and traditional graphic arts manufacturing, has broadened its academic scope to include curricula in new and emerging forms of visual communications. It now offers associate and bachelor’s degree programs that enable students to specialize in advertising, graphic, web, and broadcast design or gaming, animation, and illustration.

Chaired by MaryAnn Biehl, who gave an update during the Gamma Gold Key Awards program, the department currently enrolls about 1,000 students from throughout the metro area. It recently completed a two-year self-study exercise that will lead to an important academic accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). A new curriculum in communication design management is to be launched in the fall semester. At a later date, the department will relocate to an expanded media center being developed in refurbished space at City Tech’s downtown Brooklyn campus.

Students from City Tech have always been among the recipients of GCSF scholarships, as have students from other, equally prestigious colleges and universities offering undergraduate and graduate programs in graphic communications. The foundation has presented $526,000 to 131 students since it began collecting money in 2002, and on June 18, the value of the stipends will be the richest yet: $110,000 for 31 students who will assemble with their families at the Hearst Tower to become the latest beneficiaries of one of the most exceptional fundraising efforts anywhere in the industry.

Scenes from the “Chocolate Factory” at 636 11th Avenue in Manhattan, a locale better known as the New York headquarters of Ogilvy & Mather and most recently the site of GCSF’s “Spring Fling”

The June 4 “Spring Fling” at Ogilvy’s space on the far West Side wasn’t entirely without precedent—GCSF held a “holiday bash” along similar fundraising lines at The Art Directors Club last December. Like that festivity, the “Spring Fling” was all about raising awareness of the need for more donations, more involvement, and more activism on behalf of industry education. The foundation, a 501(c)3 corporation that operates entirely through the work of volunteers, has become a focal point for education in the metro region and is actively supported by other industry groups that share its aims.

Recognized at the “Spring Fling” were four who will be honored at the Franklin Luminaire Awards event on October 1: Veronica H. Simmons (MRM/McCann), Meghan Fitzgerald Milkowski (Prometheus Global Media), Charles Blanchard, Jr. (Blanchard Systems Inc.), and Michael J. Simon (Publishers Press Inc.)

For example, 10 of the grants to be presented on June 18 are funded through a sponsorship donation from the Advertising Production Club of New York (APC-NY). At the “Spring Fling,” GSCF booster Diane Romano announced that proceeds from the October 1 Franklin Luminaire Awards event (a joint production of Printing Industries Alliance and IDEAlliance) would be donated to the scholarship fund.

GCSF also has a growing list of corporate supporters that contribute cash, gifts for scholarship recipients, mentoring assistance, and other kinds of help. On June 4, representatives of these companies mingled with a cross-section of publishers, advertising and media professionals, creatives, print service providers, and industry technologists for what was both a sophisticated cocktail party and a pride-inducing show of the industry’s determination to take good care of its youngest, best, and brightest in the metro area.

The sign says it all about the breadth of industry support for GCSF and the students it serves in the metro area