CCAD celebrates alumni

Michael Flechtner, winner of The Joseph V. Canzani Alumni Award for Excellence, 2017

One was told he might “be better off becoming a plumber.” Another balances her light-hearted work with Cartoon Network by tackling heavy concepts such as self-esteem, sexism, queer identity, and heartbreak. Yet another was mentored by Joseph V. Canzani and has gone on to be an award-winning artist and educator himself.

Columbus College of Art & Design celebrates its outstanding alumni every day — and once a year, the college has honored graduates with the Joseph V. Canzani Alumni Award for Excellence (previously known as the Outstanding Alumni Award).

But one annual alumni award wasn’t enough. So starting this year, 2017, the college expanded its awards to include the Emerging Leader Award, the Commitment to Service Award, the Arts Educator, and the Creative Entrepreneur Award — in addition to the Joseph V. Canzani Alumni Award for Excellence.

This year’s winners are:

The Joseph V. Canzani Alumni Award for Excellence — Michael Flechtner (Fine Arts, 1981), artist at Flechtroneonics

Emerging Leader Award — Colleen Clark (Illustration, 2014), Designer for Social Media at Cartoon Network

Commitment to Service Award — Marshall Shorts (Industrial Design and Advertising & Graphic Design, 2006), Creative-N-Chief at Artfluential

Arts Educator Award — Jon Keith Swindell (Illustration, 1973), Professor of Visual Art at University of Kansas

Creative Entrepreneur Award — Paula Froehle (Fine Arts, 1987), CEO and Co-founder at Chicago Media Project

Click here to hear more from the award-winners and learn more about the Alumni Awards.