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Professor
R. Roger Remington
Rochester Institute of Technology
Thoughts
on Rob Roy Kelly
It
is a humbling experience to be in the presence of a pioneer
in one’s discipline. And so it has been for me as I have
known Rob Roy Kelly, as both a colleague and a friend. My
first contact with Kelly came as I wrote to him in Minneapolis,
asking for help identifying a wood type font. He responded
right away with the information and that was the beginning
of what has become a nearly fifty year professional relationship.
Kelly has been a significant influence in my career in design
education. I recall visiting him at Kansas City Art Institute
enroute to Aspen one summer. This was during the golden age
of that great design program. Kelly, full of himself as usual,
showed me through the exhibit of student work explaining pedagogy
through example. This experience had a deep impact on my own
thinking as I was to go on in the 1970s at RIT to guide what
has become the present Graphic Design Program here. We were
able to hire James Bare, a KCAI graduate, who brought a powerful
quality of Kelly’s influence. During these years Kelly
came ro RIT as a guest lecturer several times and then, in
1975, Kelly was in residence at RIT as the Kern Institute
Professor of Communications. As I recall, his year of tenure
here was irritating to some (administration) and constructive
to others (faculty and students.) Kelly saw his role at RIT
as a catalyst who affects change.
Looking
back, why is Rob Roy Kelly a pioneer in graphic design education?
I feel it is because he
•
developed and reined innovative pedagogy in teaching graphic
design
•bridged
the gap between academia and the community with his various
community design projects
•
stressed the importance of viable foundation program experiences
in graphic design
•
created connections with Swiss teachers and schools as a way
of upgrading the ways in which formal values are taught in
graphic design
•
made major contributions to research about the history of
design through his work on American wood types
•
made it his business to create a constant stream of critical
writings
•
never compromised his views and opinions
•
persevered in promoting his vision of quality professionalism
in graphic design education
It
is my intent with this project that Kelly’s significant
ideas on design education be documented and made available
for a wider audience. Hopefully the students who have worked
on this project, as well as new readers of the text, will
benefit from the wisdom of this great design educator.
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