Four Top Architecture Firms Selected to Interview for College’s First Building Commission
After reviewing submissions by 29 firms invited to submit qualifications for the design of Columbia’s first new construction project, an architectural selection committee has narrowed the field to four semi-finalists. Architects from Brininstool + Lynch (Chicago), Helfand Architecture (New York), Morphosis (Santa Monica), and Studio Gang (Chicago) will be invited to meet with members of the committee in February, at which time they will be asked to explore in more detail their design philosophies, technical approaches, understanding of sustainability, and ability to design within budget parameters.
The proposed commission is for the design of the college’s first original building, a 42,000-square-foot media production center the college hopes to build at the corner of 16th and State Streets. Sale of the vacant lot, now owned by the City of Chicago, must be approved by the Community Development Commission and the City Council, as well as by the college’s board of trustees. The proposed media production center will house two sound stages, a motion-capture studio, and an animation lab, among other facilities.
“College leadership feels strongly about selecting an innovative architect who will design a building that reflects the school’s innovative spirit,” notes Martha Thorne, executive director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. “These four firms are at the leading edge of design for public buildings.” Thorne serves as professional advisor to the selection committee, which is co-chaired by Columbia board president Allen Turner and trustees Ellen Stone Belic and Marcia Lazar.
Brininstool + Lynch maintains a studio environment geared toward encouraging collaboration and communication. The firm’s projects range from custom residences to skyscrapers, with an approach rooted in aesthetic intent.
Helfand Architecture has experience designing educational buildings, such as the new Swarthmore College United Science Center. Helfand brings an innovative approach to the design of institutional buildings, interiors, college campuses, and product design.
Morphosis aims to develop projects that respond specifically to the multiple needs of each client, site, and program. With a name meaning “in formation,” Morphosis encourages innovation and experimentation in its process-based designs.
Studio Gang has a strong reputation for research and design. The firm’s innovative designs include the Starlight Theatre in Rockford, Illinois, which features a movable roof, and is known for its commitment to sustainability.
Board Approves 4.75-percent Tuition Increase for FY2008
Tuition at Columbia College Chicago will increase 4.75 percent in fall 2008 under a proposal approved by the board of trustees at their December 7 meeting.
The modest rise shows Columbia’s fiscal restraint at a time when other colleges' increases average more—for 2007, tuition and fee rates rose an average of seven percent at Illinois not-for-profit institutions, and ten percent at schools of art, music, and design. The 2008 increase is in line with the college’s recent history. In the past five years, Columbia’s tuition and fees have increased 19 percent overall, while the overall increase for Illinois not-for-profit colleges and universities has been 25 percent. Schools of art, design, and music have increased their tuition and fees an average of 28 percent in that time period.
The college has managed to keep tuition increases moderate as operating costs continue to rise at a steady clip—the annual average cost that large employers such as Columbia pay for employee health plans, for example, increased 6.7 percent in 2005, and rates the institution pays for electricity are expected to jump more than 20 percent in 2007.
The college is also taking steps to mitigate the effect of the increase on students. As reported in this week’s Columbia Chronicle, the school is among a minority of institutions that front the grant money promised to students through the state’s MAP Plus grant program. The school has added hundreds of new scholarship opportunities in recent years, and is working to raise awareness among students about scholarships available to them.
AEMM’s Kimo Williams Named Chicagoan of the Year
Chicago magazine has released its annual list of Chicagoans of the Year, and Kimo Williams, professor of music management in the Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management department, is among them. In Chicago’s January 2007 issue, writer Jeff Ruby outlines Williams’s journey from the battlefield of Vietnam to the Symphony Center stage, where he recently premiered his composition Buffalo Soldiers for Chicago audiences.
Williams, 56, is a photographer, composer, musician, writer, and—importantly—teacher. As he tells Chicago, “I tell my students, ‘You have to have passion for what you do. Aspiration is one thing, but passion is another completely.”
Payroll News You Can Use
The Payroll office has compiled some information and reminders that may be of interest to faculty and staff. Please contact thePayroll office at extension 7217 if you have questions about the following:
Social Security Wage Base Rises to $97,500 in 2007
The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that the 2007 Social Security wage base will be $97,500, an increase of $3,300 from the 2006 wage base of $94,200. As in prior years, there is no limit to the wages subject to the Medicare tax; therefore, all covered wages are still subject to the 1.45-percent tax.
The FICA tax rate, which is the combined social security tax rate of 6.2 percent and the Medicare tax rate of 1.45 percent, remains at 7.65 percent for 2007. The maximum Social Security tax employees and employers will each pay in 2007 is $6,045.00. This is an increase of $204.60 from the 2006 maximum of $5,840.40.
IRS Announces Pension Plan COLAs for Tax Year 2007
The IRS has announced the cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) applicable to dollar limits on benefits and contributions under qualified retirement plans, as well as other items, for tax year 2007 [IR-2006-162, 10-18-06].
The limitation on the exclusion for elective deferrals under §402(g) (1) (e.g., §401(k) and §403(b) plans) is increased from $15,000 to $15,500.
The limitation under §414(v) (2) (B) (i) for catch-up contributions to §§401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans for individuals age 50 or over remains unchanged at $5,000.
Changes to Transportation Reimbursement Rates and Allowances
The IRS has announced that the standard business mileage rate for transportation expenses paid or incurred beginning January 1, 2007 will be 48.5 cents per mile, up from the 44.5 cents per mile rate in effect during 2006.
The IRS has announced that allowances for parking expenses incurred beginning January 1, 2007 will be $215 per month, up from the $205 per month that was in effect during 2006.
Also, eligible Metra (transit passes) and CTA expenses incurred beginning January 1, 2007, will be $110 per month, up from $105 per month which was in effect during 2006.
Remember, you must be enrolled in these programs to participate. Contact Derrick Streater at 7592 if you have questions about these programs.
Faculty and Staff Accomplishments
Scott Anderson (Fine Art) has been awarded a Pollack-Krasner grant for 2007. Fellow Fine Art professor Corey Postiglione presented a lecture on Anderson's paintings at the Chicago Cultural Center in September as part of the Chicago Art Critics Association's annual event for Chicago Artists Month.
George Bailey (English) will serve as the resident scholar at the Oak Park Public Library for the national program “Looking At Jazz: America’s Art Form.” The series, which runs on six consecutive Wednesday evenings beginning January 31, uses documentary and archival film as a jumping-off point for discussions (led by Bailey) of jazz as the quintessential American art form. The Oak Park Library is the only Chicagoland site and one of only 50 libraries across the country chosen to participate.
Ivan Brunetti’s (web designer) Anthology of Graphic Fiction, published this fall by Yale University Press, is receiving rave reviews. Brunetti chronicles the history of this relatively young art form by presenting the cartoons themselves, free of commentary save his succinct introduction. The book garnered a glowing, full-spread review in the December 3 New York Times Review of Books.
Peter Cook (ASL-English Interpretation) attended the Tales of Graz, an international storytelling festival in Graz, Austria last June. He was the only deaf teller to participate. Cook came in seventh in a field of 30 storytellers in a competition for the Golden Ear, an award presented to the winner of the competition for best teller.
Terence Hannum (Fine Art) will have an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in the 12 x 12 project space in spring 2007.
Kimberley Kuhns (ASL-English Interpretation co-authored, with Jodi Hains, an article published on the front page of the RID Views (Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf) in October. The title of article is "Welcome to the Working World: A Guide for Recent Grads." Kuhns also gave a poster presentation titled “L2 ASL Learners’ Acquisition of NMS with Lexical Items in Different Conversational Contexts” at the Conference of Interpreter Trainers in San Diego last month. Fellow ASL faculty Jennifer Briggs also gave a poster presentation at the conference on “Non-Manual Grammatical Marking Among L2 Learners of American Sign Language.” Acting chair Diana Gorman was acknowledged at the conference as a leader in the field.
Natalie Moore (Journalism), co-author of Deconstructing Tyrone: A New Look at Black Masculinity in the Hip-Hop Generation (Cleis Books), will be featured on English professor Stan West’s WNUA 95.5 FM radio show on January 7 and February 4 at 6:30 a.m.
Sabina Ott (Art + Design) moderated a panel at the Chicago Cultural Center sponsored by Chicago Artists Resource called “Not the Old Boys Network.” Her panel addressed how womenartists are differentiating their practice in the twenty-first century. The discussion focused on several distinct places women have created for themselves in the local art community, including ARC, Sapphire and Crystals, Womanmade Gallery, and the Chicago Women's Caucus for Art.
Alan Rado (Advertising Art Direction) is collaborating with Larry Minsky (Marketing Communication) on the 2007 student competition assignment from the One Club of New York. Students will be recruited from both departments to work on creating advertising that encourages the public to recognize twenty-first-century environmental concerns as crucial to the quality of life around the world. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is the client, and the first prize is $3,000! All entries must be received by February 21, 2007, and interested students should be directed to the Art + Design or Marketing Communication departments.
Fern Valfer’s (Fine Art) work is featured in the Ragdale Foundation's thirtieth-anniversary exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center. The exhibition continues through January 13th, 2007.
Stan West (English) will present two documentaries—Mutilated Rest and Our Hood— at the Hawaii International Arts & Humanities Conference in January. West also recently received a Community History Award from West Suburban Jack and Jill, Inc. for his large body of work chronicling the rich history of Blacks and Biracials in suburbia, and was a finalist in an international photography contest at the University of New Orleans for a photo he captured of a Nazi concentration camp in Brussels.
