From the Executive Director
| As a new year begins my thoughts are about the future and about a visionary individual. With great sadness this new decade is marked by the passing of E. Desmond Lee, a distinguished entrepreneur and philanthropist whose legacy will have a perpetual impact on St. Louis institutions and generations of St. Louisans. Among his many contributions to educational and cultural endeavors is the Des Lee Collaborative Vision which includes more than 30 endowed professorships at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Washington University, Webster University and Saint Louis University who partner with 100 community organizations and several government agencies and businesses. As the Aronson Endowed Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art at the University of Missouri-St. Louis I’m fortunate to be a part of the DLCV as well as the Executive Director at Laumeier Sculpture Park. The dual function of my position is precisely the creative collaboration that Des envisioned when he began his philanthropic enterprise and encouraged others such as Adam and Judy Aronson to follow his lead. In the early part of the last decade, the Aronson’s worked with former University of Missouri-St. Louis Chancellor Blanche Touhill and others to endow the professorship and linking it with Laumeier. Ultimately, the position became part of the DLCV and has established strong connections between the University and Laumeier as well as countless educational and career opportunities for students and faculty. Judy Aronson has said that her late husband (and Laumeier founder), Adam felt that Des “was the most creative philanthropist he knew.” Laumeier has a long history of collaborating throughout the community with such partners as the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Washington University, Webster University, Saint Louis University, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, Maryville University, Lindenwood Univeristy and St. Louis Community College; arts organizations such as the St. Louis Art Museum, Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, White Flag Projects, the Sheldon, Center of Creative Arts (COCA), Foundry Art Centre and Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis. The public-private partnership between the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization — Laumeier Sculpture Park and St. Louis County Parks is a testament to the innovative solutions that collaboration can produce. As Laumeier moves forward with ongoing and new collaborations with partners such as the Missouri Botanical Garden, Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Jazz St. Louis we will be building on the foundation that Des created and so many others have built upon. For more on E. Desmond Lee: By Sarah Bryan Miller, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, (01/13/2010) St. Louis Business Journal, (01/12/2010)  Marilu Knode |
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