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Five art graduates of the Class of 2003 who focused on art history are pursuing graduate studies in the top schools in the field this fall.
The art majors, along with their hometowns and graduate schools, are: Julianna Struck of Mount Laurel, N.J., University of Cambridge; Liza Lesser of Miami Beach, Fla., Art Institute of Chicago; Meghan Vacca of Farmington, Conn., Hunter College; Heather Badamo of Dubois, Pa., University of Michigan; and Lucy Smith of Neptune, N.J., University of Maryland.
All five graduated with Latin honors with grade point averages of 3.50 or above, and all but Struck, who graduated a semester early, earned honors in art through year-long research projects guided by faculty mentors.
Struck is one of just a half-dozen students worldwide who have been accepted into the art history graduate studies program at Cambridge University this year. She graduated magna cum laude in December and plans to earn a master of philosophy degree in the history of art and architecture at Cambridge, remaining there to pursue a Ph.D. She will continue research on Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912) that she began in an intensive research project guided by Diane Cole Ahl, Rothkopf Professor of Art History at Lafayette.
“Lafayette is different from any of the bigger schools,” says Struck. “It’s a one-on-one experience that you can’t have at a bigger school. The professors want to be involved with your work. And the college’s proximity to major cities and resources presents many opportunities. Students can easily travel to New York, Philadelphia, or Allentown for concerts, operas, exhibits, and shows and can take advantage of libraries and museums at nearby institutions. I couldn’t have picked a better school to study art.”
Lesser will study the history of modern architecture at Art Institute of Chicago, the nation’s best school for the study of fine arts, according to the College Art Association. She graduated magna cum laude and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Alpha Theta, the international honor society for the study of history.
Lesser earned honors through an investigation of contemporary architect Richard Gluckman that was supervised by Robert Mattison, Metzgar Professor and head of art. She conducted interviews with Gluckman, studied his buildings in person, and conducted other research to determine how his projects fit into the minimalist movement.
“Lafayette’s art history program is impressive,” she says. “Not only do students get an immense amount of personal attention, they enjoy a number of unique opportunities. Lafayette has a very active art program that has brought amazing shows to campus galleries and a variety of artists and lecturers to the classroom.”
Vacca will pursue an advanced degree at Hunter College, part of the City University of New York system. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, she graduated cum laude with a second major in anthropology and sociology.
Prior to taking on her honors thesis, Vacca collaborated as an EXCEL Scholar with Ida Sinkevic, associate professor of art, to research the concept of sacred space from the perspectives of anthropology and art history. In Lafayette’s distinctive EXCEL Scholars program, students collaborate with faculty on research while earning a stipend. Many of the more than 160 students who participate each year go on to publish papers in scholarly journals and/or present their research at conferences.
“Lafayette provides an excellent opportunity for undergraduates to gain research experience,” she says. “I feel that if I had gone to a large university, I wouldn’t have had this same opportunity because it would have been given to graduate students.”
A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Badamo will study Coptic art at University of Michigan, which offers one of the best art history programs in the country, according to Mattison. She graduated summa cum laude with a second major in anthropology and sociology. She received Lafayette’s Frederick Knecht Detwiller Prize, given to seniors for distinguished work in art and art history, and Class of 1884 R.B. Youngman Greek Prize, awarded to a student demonstrating a high degree of proficiency in Greek.
Badamo worked as an EXCEL Scholar with Sinkevic to study the changing role of the Virgin Mary in Byzantine art over the course of several centuries.
”In the humanities, it’s rare to be able to do research at this level as an undergraduate, and I appreciated the chance to work with Professor Sinkevic,” she says. “She’s a great mentorI’m pleased with Lafayette. It’s a good school with a lot of opportunities.”
A Marquis Scholar at Lafayette, Smith will pursue a master’s in library science as a graduate assistant at the College of Library and Information Science at University of Maryland. By serving an assistantship with the university’s art and architecture libraries, she will receive free tuition and a $15,000 stipend. Smith, who graduated magna cum laude with honors in art and French, is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Delta Phi (French) academic honor societies and recipient of Lafayette’s James Alexander Petrie Prize in French. She was introduced to the intricacies of special collections as an EXCEL Scholar.
“I love working in libraries with books and rare materials,” she says. “I worked in special collections at Lafayette with Diane Shaw [special collections librarian]. This positive experience really helped me determine the field I wanted to pursue.”
Smith’s honors thesis explored the historical, social, and political events that sparked the use of caricature during the French Revolutionary period. Mattison and George Rosa, associate professor of foreign languages and literatures, provided direction for the project.
All five students were leaders and active participants in campus activities at Lafayette.
Struck, who plays piano, flute, and percussion, was conductor of Lafayette’s Pep Band. She also participated in intramural volleyball, College Arts Society, and a cancer support group. She taught the benefits of acupuncture and served as head usher and box office clerk for Lafayette’s Williams Center for the Arts. Since her early graduation, Struck has been working for Kathryn Hiesinger, curator of European decorative art and sculpture after 1700 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where she interned last summer.
Lesser was an admissions tour guide and member of Order of Omega, the Greek honor society. She also belonged to Alpha Phi sorority and received the Ruth Crellin Boutwell Scholarship from the national Alpha Phi Foundation.
Vacca was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority and the Family Weekend Planning Committee. She served as vice president of Panhellenic Council, worked in the College Archives and Special Collections and College Slide Library, and participated in intramural sports. She also was part of a team of students that prepared a video documentary on a Sikh congregation in Easton.
Badamo served as president of Emile Durkheim Society, a student group that seeks to show anthropology and society majors how they can use their education outside the classroom. She participated for two years in the McKelvy House Scholars program, in which 17 to 20 students of high academic achievement and promise live in a historic off-campus house and share in intellectual and social activities.
Smith was a member of French Club, Riding Club, and Pep Band.