GOVERNOR'S AWARDS FOR THE ARTS 2004

Donald Parks

Donald Parks of Dover, a tenured professor of art at Delaware State University and Director of the Arts Center Gallery, has over thirty years of service and contributions to the arts. Dr. Parks grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of New York and received a Ph.D. in Art Education from Syracuse University.

Among many other impressive achievements, Dr. Parks has been the Regional Director of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Program for the past 12 years. This year, eleven of his awardees received national recognition at Carnegie Hall in New York, as well as at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. In 2003, he was appointed Director of the Schwartz Center for the Arts' Management Board, and in May 2004, he received the Excellence in University and Community Service Award.

Among a range of other diverse responsibilities, Dr. Parks currently chairs the Cultural Program Committee at Delaware State University, is the State Director for the Congressional Arts Awards Program, and participates in SOS (Save Outdoor Sculpture) Smithsonian project.

Dr. Parks' work has been displayed in many venues including the Museum of Modern Art, the American Cancer Association, the Corning Glass Corporation, and is in private collections in the United States, South America, Ireland, North Africa, Germany, and Mexico. Parks has published widely including a recent book, Enhancing Visual Imagery. Dr. Parks believes that people/students first learn visually. “It is so vital to our education and to our culture to celebrate the arts,” comments Dr. Parks. “Just being exposed to even one of the arts—dance, music, theatre, or visual art—well, exposure makes the person.”

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