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Professor
Bruce Ian Meader
Rochester Institute of Technology
Thoughts
on Rob Roy Kelly
I was fortunate to have been an undergraduate graphic design
student
at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh–one of several
schools where Rob Roy Kelly came, saw and conquered. Rob Roy
Kelly was my teacher over twenty years ago. At the time, I
had less of an idea than I do now of how fortunate I was to
be in his company. What I knew was that Rob was very demanding,
very forthright and very much respected by all–students,
staff, faculty… everyone except some people in administration.
History shows that at every school where Rob taught, that
he made it his business to not only evaluate student design
work, but also to evaluate the ways in which upper administration
was, or was not, managing the institution. More often than
not Rob was very right in his conclusions. More often than
not his insights, honesty and persistence made some folks
uncomfortable. Pedagogical goals and administrative goals
are not always congruous.
Every
graphic design educator, whether he or she is aware, owes
a debt of gratitude to Rob Roy Kelly. He helped build the
strongest graphic design programs in this country and much
of his life has been devoted to advancing the understanding
and usefulness of graphic design as an educational study and
as a practice for the betterment of society. I wasn’t
Rob’s best student, but over time I have come to understand
the importance of Rob’s focus on fundamental visual principles,
and the idea that an educational program is only as good as
its faculty and the support that faculty receives from its
administration. Rob Roy Kelly helped me to become a better
design educator than I would be without his influence. I am
very fortunate. This book will go a long way to helping others
who have yet to have the good fortune to be in the company
of Rob Roy Kelly.
My
colleague Roger Remington and I are delighted to be a part
of this project. We each have our own past connection with
Rob, and we are proud of our graduate students who have worked
diligently to give form to the writings of Rob Roy Kelly so
that others can benefit as we have.
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