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From left: Dr. Mary Beth Kenkel, dean of the College of Psychology and Liberal Arts; Ms. Shellie
Williams, executive director, Brevard Cultural Alliance; Mrs. Ruth Funk, trustee and benefactor; Dr.
Anthony J. Catanese, president; Dr. T. Dwayne McCay, provost and chief academic officer.
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From left: Dr. Mary Beth Kenkel, dean of the College of Psychology and Liberal Art and Mrs. Ruth
Funk, trustee and benefactor
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On Friday, April 25 at 1 p.m., the Florida Tech community and the public came together to celebrate the
groundbreaking ceremony for the much-anticipated Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts. A crowd of more than 150 people
gathered at what will soon be a construction site in the heart of campus, just north of Evans Library, to welcome
the building.
The Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts, expected to open in 2009, will preserve and display an international
collection of textiles through rotating public exhibitions and educational programs. Highlighting the collection
are traditional handmade textiles, embroidery, garments and related accessories from Africa, Japan, India and
Central Asia; European and North American embroidery, lace and samplers from the 17th through the 20th centuries;
and contemporary wearable art and fiber arts.
Florida Tech’s Ruth Funk Center will be the only textiles center in the state and one of very few in the
nation.
Ruth Funk, artist, teacher, collector and philanthropist, has supported textile arts exhibits, symposia and
curriculum on campus since 2004. It was her $1.25 million gift that provided the impetus to make the center a
reality.
The two-story center will feature 3,000 square feet of exhibition space, 2,500 square feet of collections storage
and work space, 700 square feet for a mezzanine library and 600 square feet for a lobby and grand stairway.
Holeman Suman Architects Inc. (HSA) of Melbourne, led by Craig Suman, designed the center. Campus Architect, Greg
Tsark, Asst. Director of Facilities Management, is overseeing the building project.
The groundbreaking ceremony began with a welcome from Dr. Mary Beth Kenkel, Dean of the College of Psychology and
Liberal Arts, who described how Mrs. Funk first became acquainted with the university during Florida Tech’s Dream
Weavers Gala in 2003, a textile art fundraiser for the College of Psychology. Mrs. Funk participated in the event
and, since then, Funk truly has woven her dream of a Textiles program into a reality with Florida Tech.
Dr. Kenkel’s remarks were followed by those from President Anthony James Catanese. who said he wants his school to
be known as an institution that goes far beyond engineering or the sciences. "We educate the whole brain," Catanese
said.
He also stressed the potential community outreach of the center. To elaborate, Catanese then introduced Shellie
Williams, Executive Director of the Brevard Cultural Alliance. Ms. Williams congratulated the campus and President
Catanese for his vision in ushering in a campus art gallery and stressing the significance of cultural enrichment
at a technical university. Williams also mentioned the important impact the Textiles Center will have on the
economic vitality of the Brevard community.
Finally, Mrs. Funk stood at the lectern to much applause and spoke briefly, thanking the university and the
audience for their support. She said she hopes the center will bring awareness to the value of textile arts and
also to the knowledge that can be learned about different cultures through a study of their crafts and their
traditional costumes and textiles.
The Center will open to the public on August 29, 2009, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call
(321) 674-6129.
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