Alumni achievement award Winners Accept Honors and Affirm Pratt’s Influence
L-R: Joseph Mizzi, Juliana Terian Gilbert, Mike Pratt, Tom Schutte, Debbie Yoon, and Andy Kim at the Alumni Achievement Awards Luncheon at The Modern in Manhattan The 2011 Alumni Achievement Awards (AAA) were conferred on five distinguished Pratt graduates at a festive luncheon held for the first time at The Modern, a restaurant designed by Pratt alumnus Frederick Bentel (B. Arch. ’49) and located at The Museum of Modern Art. Arriving guests were treated to the sight of a commissioned mural by Pratt alumna Mickalene Thomas (B.F.A. ’00), a 2009 AAA recipient, on display in the restaurant’s main entrance window.
“It is fitting that we are presenting this year’s alumni achievement awards here, adjacent to one of the world’s most renowned centers for the visual arts, ” said Pratt President Thomas F. Schutte, who introduced the presenters and conferred the awards, which recognize outstanding accomplishments in the recipients’ fields.
Place setting at Alumni Achievement Awards luncheonPratt Trustee Gary Hattem (M.S. ’75, AAA ’05) introduced the celebrated interior designer David Easton (B. Arch. ’63), who was abroad but sent a message of thanks to be read by his studio manager, Cobus A. Gauche, who accepted the award of Easton’s behalf. “I was very touched when I heard that Pratt Institute wanted to bestow this great honor upon me,” Easton said. “It was the education that Pratt gave me and the teachers I encountered there that were a great inspiration to me from the past into the future.”
Philanthropist Juliana Terian Gilbert (B. Arch. ’90), chair of The Rallye Automotive Group, and donor of Pratt’s Juliana Curran Terian Design Center, was introduced by Board Chair Mike Pratt.
“I feel very privileged and humbled,” said Gilbert upon receiving the award. “I love design; I love designers; and it just makes sense, when I was able to support the arts and support the students, it’s with pleasure that I could do that. It makes me as a designer stronger; it makes other designers, I hope, stronger; it just goes full circle.”
Award recipient Joseph Mizzi (B.S. ’91), president of Sciame Construction, was introduced by Thomas Hanrahan, dean of the School of Architecture and a founding partner of HanrahanMeyers architects. Mizzi recalled, “One of my first projects was in 1995 doing renovation work at Higgins Hall. As a Pratt graduate, I was quite proud to be able to work on this building. Later, we were construction managers for the building when Dean Hanrahan and Dr. Schutte commissioned Steven Holl to design the Higgins Hall Center Section that’s so important for our School of Architecture and for our city.”
Fashion designers Seokwon Andy Kim (B.F.A. ’97) and Wonjeong Debbie Yoon (B.F.A. ’94), the team behind the ANDY & DEBB label, were introduced by Pratt Trustee Deborah Buck, a painter, chef, food stylist, art and antiques dealer, and owner of Buck House. “It’s our great honor to be here to receive this award,” said Kim. “It means so much to us,” added his wife and business partner Yoon. “Our education at Pratt made us what we are now. It’s truly a great honor. Thank you.”
Photos: Kevin Wick
Gateway Editors
Reader Comments (2)
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