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Coleman D. Ross

Andrew W. Ross Endowed Photography Scholarship

The Andrew W. Ross Endowed Photography Scholarship at Radford University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts was established by the honoree’s parents in 2018. Coleman Ross provided the following the following about Andrew so that future scholarship recipients could learn more about him.

The Andrew W. Ross Endowed Photography Scholarship was established to honor Radford Assistant Professor of Photography Andrew Ross and his role in advancing the photography program within Radford’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. The goal of the scholarship is to attract talented students to pursue studies in photography at Radford University and may be awarded to both BFA and MFA candidates.

Andrew Ross is a photographic artist, commercial photographer, and web designer who has taught art, photography, and web design. In 2012 he received Master of Fine Arts – Studio Art degree with a concentration in photography from Florida State University. His undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of Arts with distinction in Philosophy, was earned from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1998. He also attended Georgia Institute of Technology where he studied Aerospace Engineering.

Among Ross’s academic awards include the Florence, Italy Teaching Fellowship from FSU and being inducted into academic honor societies at both UNC and Georgia Tech (Phi Beta Kappa, Golden Key, Phi Sigma Tau -- Philosophy, and Phi Eta Sigma as an Aerospace Engineering student). He was a President of UNC’s Philosophy Club and a Dean’s List student at each of the three institutions.

One of Andrew’s goals in earning a MFA degree was to teach at the university level. He joined the faculty of Radford’s College of Visual and Performing Arts in August 2014 as a professor in photography. As the only tenure-track photography professor, he taught film-based and digital photography courses at both the MFA and BFA levels.

During his four years at Radford, he completely revamped the photography program. He began by reorganizing and upgrading the lighting studio, adding additional professional lighting and studio equipment to give students the opportunity to create photographic works in a live studio environment. Using work studies, he made the lighting studio available to other programs and classes with a check-in/checkout system and a training overview for interested groups and individuals both inside and outside of the photography discipline.

Andrew reorganized and upgraded the art department’s rudimentary digital printing facilities into a full-blown digital printing classroom complete with multiple scanners and both large and small scale digital printers. And he accomplished all of this in a very frugal manner, repurposing existing and donated equipment and by literally squeezing every drop of ink out of the very expensive large format digital printers.

Andrew set up a fund with the Radford Foundation to allow students to purchase their printing materials (ink and paper) at strictly the cost of the materials, saving students a great deal of money, as well as increasing the convenience of printing in the art department instead of going out of house. Virtually all of the setup and maintenance of the original printing lab was done by Andrew himself, included the repair of countless bits of photographic, lighting, and printing equipment.

In 2017, Andrew, with funding from Radford University, was able to transfer all the digital printing lab equipment and materials into a new digital printing lab on the lower level of Porterfield Hall and to staff the lab seven-days-a-week with student workers, allowing regular access to the equipment and materials by both our art and graphic design students.

Professor Ken Smith, Andrew’s colleague, said, “Andrew has worked tirelessly to grow both the graduate and undergraduate photography programs at Radford by outreach and his example of professionalism and commitment. He created a regional, juried art show to bring in both high school and college students to the Radford campus, which provided both recruiting and good will. He worked with the McConnell Library to take underutilized library space and turn it into a student gallery area where photography and other art disciplines have regular shows and exhibitions."

“Andrew is an outspoken advocate for the arts both within and “without” of Radford University. He has advocated for a strong graduate program in the arts, both in terms of curriculum and recruiting. And he has advocated for a professional and serious photography track that emphasizes both the artistic and the technical. He has embraced the graphic, photographic and illustrative needs of the one hundred graphic design majors at Radford, while remaining engaged with our studio-art based graduate and undergraduate students.”

Andrew’s colleague and fellow professor, John O’Conner, said, “Andrew has been a positive force in the Art Department from day one. He arrival into the vacant photography position brought stability and life to a situation that had suffered from several years of staff turnover. He is one of those rare people who has both good ideas and the ability to implement and see them through. During his relatively short time at Radford, Andrew provided energetic leadership as he built a solid program that garnered respect with our department, college, university, and the surrounding community. Despite his diagnosis, he has continued his dedication to his students serving as an inspiration for all of us. His commitment to his program and the students has been nothing short of outstanding and I can think of no better way to honor his accomplishments than a scholarship that will continue his good work for many years to come. I personally value Andrew as a friend and a colleague and truly appreciate all he has accomplished.”

Radford University has honored Andrew by dedicating a section of the McConnell Library as The Andrew W. Ross Student Art Gallery. “He’s putting the library on the map as another venue for students to display their work,” Jim Webster, Head of Reserves and Library Art Coordinator, said. “Artwork doesn’t necessarily need to be hung in formal galleries. It’s important to see art as a part of everyday life, and that’s what Andrew is doing. He’s making art easily accessible and visible to the lives of our students.” Beth Johnson, Head of Access Services and Student Engagement at McConnell Library, said, “It’s been a great collaboration. Andrew has brought a lot of attention to the library. Going into an exhibition, he always has a unique vision of what he wants it to look like, and he brings that vision to life.”

Dean Margaret Devaney said of her photography professor, “In my capacity as Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, I have had the good fortune to work with Andrew as fellow educators, arts advocates, and caring colleagues. I have always been truly in awe of his devotion to his students, his mission to share his love and knowledge of photography with our university and community, and his overflowing support of the arts on our campus. Andrew approaches life with intensity, intentionality, and wonderful whimsy. It is a joy to continually witness the astounding convergence of both his analytical and creative souls.”

Prior to joining the Radford faculty, Andrew taught at the Art Institute of Raleigh-Durham and Florida State University, as well as internationally at Shanxi University, and Taiyuan Normal University, both in China, and at Florida State’s campus in Florence, Italy. At Taiyuan Normal University he was named Honorary Professor of Art.

Andrew has presented his own art in numerous local, regional, national, and international exhibitions, including solo shows in Durham and Raleigh, North Carolina; the Artists’ ShowCase Portfolio, a book published by the Center for Fine Art Photography; a solo show at the Ningbo Museum of Art in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China; and the Photo Review Competition national photography competition in which he received an Honorable Mention. His artwork derives influences from studies and interests in philosophy, science, engineering, and politics.

Prior to graduate school, Andrew was a member and eventual co-chair of the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission. While serving on this advisory board, he worked on several public art initiatives including an arts festival, a yearly sculpture show, an annual Community Arts Project, and regular public exhibitions in municipal buildings. He also helped draft a Percent-for-Art ordinance for the town which has enriched the town with public art funded from both private and public capital projects. He received a Village Pride award in 2003 from radio station WCHL for his work promoting art in Chapel Hill.

Andrew was born in Tampa, Florida, and moved with his family to Connecticut at an early age. As a youth he was active in Scouting, attaining the Eagle Scout award and participating in the National Scout Jamboree in Virginia, the World Scout Jamboree in Australia, and High Adventure Treks in Florida and the Adirondacks. He graduated from Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut, where, as a senior, he won overall first place in the Connecticut State Science Fair competition with an aerodynamic study of slotted airfoils and received further recognition in national competition.

In May 2017, Andrew was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). At the end of the 2018 Spring semester he resigned from Radford University to focus his efforts on dealing with treatment of the disease.

The following about the honoree appeared in Radford University’s College of Visual & Performing Arts News & Events on April 26, 2018 titled Professor Ross Steps Down to Return to North Carolina.

At the close of the spring 2018 semester, Assistant Professor of Photography Andrew Ross will be stepping down from his position to return to Chapel Hill, North Carolina where he lived for many years. His decision comes as a result of medical necessity.

During the spring semester of 2017, he began noticing an unusual twitch in his arm. The condition progresses, and he suspected that something neurological might be happening. [On May 12, 2017] Ross was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. While he knew this would bring substantial changes to his life, he decided to continue teaching and building the photography program here at Radford University for as long as he could. He hoped that he would be able to continue doing what he loved for more than a single year, but as the condition worsened, he realized that he would be unable to continue living independently. Given his strong network of family and friends in North Carolina, along with more abundant medical resources for his condition, he decided to resign from his post at Radford and return to Chapel Hill.

Ross accomplished a lot during his four years with the university. He is proud of the work he did in expanding the photography facilities and making them more accessible to students in the program. Part of Ross’ teaching philosophy was integrating exhibitions into the classroom experience. “I believe in having students create projects that are exhibited to the community. It gets the students to look at their work differently when it is not just to satisfy a teacher. Also, they get another level of feedback on their work when it is viewed outside of the classroom setting,” said Ross. His drive to incorporate exhibition exercises into his classrooms led to the creation of the “Andrew W. Ross Student Art Gallery” on the third floor of McConnell Library, another feat for which he is especially proud.

During his time at Radford, he also made it a point to reach out to the community. One of his favorite projects was collaborating with local children at the public library. He had his students make posters of kids as characters in their favorite books. He felt that connecting with the community was an important aspect of a college education, and he encouraged students to undertake projects that could benefit the community as well. One of his final student exhibitions titled “Then and Now” had students researching historical photos of the community through McConnell Library’s archives, then recreating them in their modern-day setting.

Ross came on board with the university in fall of 2014. He was excited about the opportunity to teach both undergraduate and graduate photography students, and also liked that the program included both analog and digital photography methods, something not as commonly found in photography programs of the digital age. Much of his own artwork uses a combination of both methods, so this aspect of the program also complemented his creative approach.

He admits that he will miss teaching in a program with such a wide range of creative possibilities. “I love it when students create work that I would never create myself. I love being able to encourage and give feedback, particularly at the graduate level. How do you nurture an artist when they’re working outside of your strongest areas? How do you keep encouraging people and helping them build upon their own work the way they want to make it? I love those aspects of teaching,” said Ross.

Ross intends to remain engaged with education once he resettles in North Carolina. He plans to reconnect with the photography community in that area and hopes to do some writing about the subject. At this point he is not sure if he will explore philosophical ideas around photography, or perhaps work on a textbook that incorporates the approaches to teaching that he has learned in the classroom.

“Andrew made a lot of contributions to the program in the short time that he was here. He single-handedly set up both the gallery in the dean’s office and the gallery in the library and did a lot of community outreach through his classroom methods. He had a positive impact on students interested in the discipline and on the graduate program and was always eager to share his professional knowledge with students. He will be missed,” said Dr. Roann Barris, Chair of the Department of Art.

The following appeared in Radford University’s News & Events on October 3, 2018 titled University Honors Former Art Faculty Member, Announces Scholarship in His Honor

Radford University and the College of Visual and Performing Arts honored former assistant professor of photography Andrew Ross with a reception on September 20 in the Scartelli Atrium at the Covington Center for Visual and Performing Arts.

Ross, who began teaching at Radford in August 2014, stepped down from his position at the close of the 2018 spring semester after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

In addition to honoring Ross, the College of Visual and Performing Arts announced the formation of an endowed scholarship for the photography program with funding provided by Ross’s parents, Coleman and Carol Ross.

“I have always been truly in awe of Andrew’s love for his students, his mission to share his love and knowledge of photography with our university community and his overflowing support of all the arts on our campus,” Dean Margaret Devaney said at the reception with a collection of Ross’ black and white photographs serving as a backdrop. ”In a relatively short time, our photography program expanded in the most amazing ways and our students flourished.”

Devaney spoke further of Ross’ commitment to students and the program, including his donation of photography and printing equipment and the reorganization of an art gallery in the Covington Center, which has now been renamed in his honor, the Andrew W. Ross Student Art Gallery.

“He is an artist; he is a master teacher,” Devaney said. “And he is an advocate of the arts.”

Ross attended the reception, but his medical condition has left him unable to speak. He prepared remarks and his father read those at the gathering.

At Radford, Andrew Ross said he found “students, colleagues and a campus community that I fell in love with. Radford University has what I was really looking for in a photography program.”

Ross said he was thankful to his parents and their “generosity that will allow me to continue to be a part of this program through the naming of a new scholarship in my honor,” Coleman Ross read. “By introducing this photography scholarship, my hope is it will help Radford to recruit, retain and reward talented students like those announced today who will bring recognition to photography and the arts here at Radford University.”

The first recipients of the Andrew W. Ross Endowed Photography Scholarship are Amber Rodgers, a junior from Meadows of Dan; Sarah Carriker, a senior from Alexandria who is graduating in December; and Alex Moral, a second-year graduate student from Alicante, Spain.

“Alex, Amber and Sarah, I am so pleased to see you as the first recipients of the award. I’m sure you know how much I miss working with you and all of my students,” Coleman Ross said, still reading Andrew’s written comments. “If your future success gives you the ability to be generous to this university, I hope you will remember the impact a scholarship like this can have on a budding artist.”

The scholarship came as a “complete surprise,” Carriker said. “It’s going toward my senior exhibition. I felt like that’s his way of helping me, beyond how he’s always helped me these past two years.”

“The scholarship goes beyond financial help,” Rodgers said. “This will be a reminder to me to keep going,” she explained. “Even if I feel my work isn’t that great, this will remind me to keep going because someone did recognize me. That’s a big reminder this scholarship will give me.”

Moral had worked with Ross for three semesters, she said, and learned “so much” from him. “He was very professional. He was very passionate about photography, and developing new ideas,” Moral said. “He encouraged us to put our work out there. He was many things to us.”

The endowed scholarship is to be given to deserving photography students in Radford University’s B.F.A. and M.F.A. programs. The donors and honoree said they wish that the scholarship will be used as a tool for recruitment and retention of high-quality students. Their generous gift of $250,000 will provide approximately $3,000 each in scholarship support for three photography students.

“On behalf of the Radford family, I express my heartfelt appreciation to former Radford University Assistant Professor Andrew Ross and the entire Ross family for their steadfast commitment to our students,” said Radford University President Brian O. Hemphill. “During Andrew’s time at Radford, he was the embodiment of the Highlander spirit. He tirelessly dedicated himself to the betterment of our students.

“A lasting testament to his work is the Andrew W. Ross Student Art Gallery in McConnell Library, a space that Andrew was instrumental in turning into a gallery for students to display their artwork,” the president continued. “Andrew’s incredible work and the Ross family’s generous support have made a lasting impact on this campus and will inspire current and future generations of Highlanders.”

Andrew W. Ross Scholarship recipients by academic year –
2018-19: Sarah Carriker (BFA), Amber Rodgers (BFA), and Alejandra Moral (MFA).
2019-20: Amber Rodgers (BFA), Lucas White (BFA), Mina Hatami (MFA), David Rehor (MFA), and Alejandra Moral (MFA).
2020-21: Sophia Grochowski (BFA); Jack Miles (BFA); Lucas White (BFA), and David Rehor (MFA).
2021-22: Sophia Grochowski (BFA); Lucas White (BFA); David Rehor (MFA); Katelyn Stanley (MFA)

Radford University Arts Society published the following addressing its donors from one of the scholarship recipients in Fall 2019.

LUCAS WHITE’S JOURNEY IS A LENS TO THE FUTURE

I found my passion for documentary photography through two special classes I took in high school: art and photojournalism. Since then, it has been my goal to travel the world, taking photos that communicate what is happening around us.

Where I grew up, art was not revered the same as other disciplines. That’s what sparked my interest in Radford University. I saw that Highlanders valued art the same way I do. That care and dedication from students, alumni, faculty, and staff inspired me to apply.

Despite my aspirations to find a home in a university that shares my passion for the arts, I didn’t know how I would pay for college. Attending college was not a “when” for me, it was an “if.” I knew I would need scholarship support in order to further my education.

Luckily, donors like you so generously gave me the opportunity to pursue my dream.

Since arriving at Radford University, I have become involved on campus in a number of ways. One of my favorite activities is being a CVPA [College of Visual and Performing Arts] student ambassador. As a first-generation college student, I know how scary freshman year can be. This role has allowed me to help my peers feel more at home on campus, inspire them to dive deep into their academic experiences, and show them my immense love for our college.

I know that donor support, now and in the future, will give even more students the opportunity to excel in CVPA like I have.

Private support has been crucial to my success at Radford University. Not only has it fully relieved the stress of paying tuition, it has also provided me with the equipment necessary to make the most of my education. In fact, I recently received a film camera that was donated by someone like you.

Because of a seemingly simple gift, like that film camera, I am able to benefit from real-world experiences that enhance what I am learning in the classroom. This experience will bring me even closer to my future career. Through my pursuit of documentary photography after graduation, I hope to bridge the gap between art and science, two of my greatest passions.

I think to myself every day about how lucky I am to attend Radford University and chase my dreams. Whether I am walking across campus, sitting in a lecture hall, or spending time with fellow Highlanders, I think of the donors who invest in my future and push me towards success.

Because of people like you, I am now on track to reach my goals.

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