Shaffer Art Building
"Dorothea Ilgen Shaffer Art Building" by Koetter, Kim and Associates , 1989-1990
The Dorothea Ilgen Shaffer Art Building, commonly called the Shaffer Art Building, is the home of Syracuse University’s fine arts museum, the SU Art Galleries, and the two-dimensional arts: Advertising Design, Communication Design, Computer Graphics, Drawing and Painting, Fashion Illustration, Film the Freshman Foundation Program, Museum Studies, Photography, and Video. The building has a prominent window drum built to allow painters to get northern light exposure. The building is equipped with facilities in which M.F.A candidates can pursue independent work and research, including studio space with skylights. The SU Art Galleries offer the Syracuse community a dynamic schedule of engaging and thought-provoking exhibitions which emphasize American art and interpretation, and a focus on exploring art in its historical, cultural, and social contexts. The galleries present changing exhibitions from the University Art Collection and elsewhere on 19th and 20th century American paintings, sculpture, and graphics; African and Indian sculpture, textiles, and decorative arts; photography; and other artworks.
The Shaffer Art Building was named for Dorothea Ilgen Shaffer, Class of 1933, Board of Trustees, and co-chair of the Campaign for Syracuse. With the expansion of the Joe and Emily Lowe Gallery, the Shaffer Art Building consolidated previously dispersed sites of art education in one place. It brings together numerous artistic disciplines from the earliest forms, painting and drawing, to the most modern computer generated designs. University President Melvin Eggers helped to develop the campus through an increased attention to landscaping and to campus art, exemplified by the corridor built between Shaffer and Bowne, the sculpture court. Exhibition spaces in Shaffer include the Michael Sickler Gallery and the Wall.
Dorothea (Dottie) Ilgen Shaffer born March 1, 1911 in Eastern Pennsylvania’s Coal Region. Shaffer grew up in a Masonic Children’s Home in Elizabethtown, near Harrisburg, PA. She earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from Syracuse University. While there, she was a member of the Panhellenic Association Delta Delta Delta sorority and the English Club. Upon graduation she returned to Harrisburg to teach art in the public schools. In 1933, she founded Ilco, a commercial interior design firm. She earned her M.A. from Pennsylvania State University in 1948. Shaffer had always dreamed of establishing a new facility for VPA’s School of Art and Design. It came to fruition in 1990 when Shaffer and her husband Maurice contributed the lead gift, donating $3.25 million toward the construction of the building. Shaffer was a champion and visionary for the education of artists and designers. The Shaffers also funded fellowships in the college and founded the Maurice E. Shaffer and Dorothea I. Shaffer Professorship in 1992. She served on the SU Board of Trustees from 1968-80 and was named an honorary Trustee in 1980. She was also a past member of VPA’s advisory council and a seven-term president of the Central Pennsylvania chapter of the SU Alumni Association. In 1990, the University awarded her an honorary doctor of fine arts degree. She was also a recipient of the University’s Outstanding Alumni Award and the Melvin Eggers Senior Alumni Award. Shaffer was a life member of the Royal Society of Arts in London, England. Shaffer passed away on October 17, 2012 at the age of 101. Her impact was immense especially at a time when very few women went to college. She welcomed opportunities with an entrepreneurial spirit as well as holding leadership roles in civic and community life.
SU University Archives; SU Photo and Imaging Archive; Dorothea Ilgen Shaffer: For the Love of Art. Forever Syracuse.com; Blust, E. (2012, October 24). "SU Honorary Trustee, VPA alumna Dorothea Ilgen Shaffer dies at 101." Syracuse University News.