Alumna Establishes Visiting Studio Artist Endowed Fund

Katherine (Kathy) Steinmayer McLean (NC ’53

As a student in Newcomb College Katherine (Kathy) Steinmayer McLean (NC ’53) pursued her dream of majoring in art in the Newcomb Art Department. The daughter of a Tulane geology professor, Reinhard Steinmayer, she studied ceramics under world renowned Newcomb pottery artist, Sadie Irvine. In 2005, in honor of her father, she established the Reinhard A. Steinmayer Endowed Scholarship, which aids students studying earth and environmental sciences. That same year, she created the J. Michael McLean Endowed Scholarship—an award for student-athletes—to recognize her late husband who had been a graduate of Tulane (A&S ‘52) and captain of the football team.

Although now living in Houston, McLean never forgot the lessons she learned in the Newcomb Art Department or the impact it had on her life. Recently, to allow others to have the outstanding education she experienced, she has added to her generosity by establishing the Katherine Steinmayer McLean Visiting Studio Artist Endowed Fund. The gift will support visiting artists who come to Tulane and provide funds for such activities as special topics classes, workshops, lectures, artistic residencies and exhibitions. “There are so many smart and talented young people at Tulane,” says McLean. “I wanted to give them an opportunity to experience artistic experimentation and to meet visiting artists from other areas who will teach them new techniques.”

In addition to making a current-use gift establishing the visiting artist fund, she has also provided a generous bequest in her will for the same purpose. “I just feel that Tulane is a wonderful place, and I know that this gift will really make a difference to students who are following their dreams to study art,” she says. “It makes me so happy to do it.”

[Why We Give, School of Liberal Arts newsletter, February 2018]

Why We Give: Learning Firsthand from the Masters

Through the generous support of Tulane parents Diane and Mark Wladis, Tulane students hoping to pursue careers as art curators now have an exceptional opportunity. They can learn about the profession from leaders in the field who are experts at bringing art in public spaces to life.

In 2013, the Wladis family created The Wladis Seminar on Curatorial Careers, a School of Liberal Arts lecture and seminar series. Its goal was for students to be able to gain perspective on the day-to-day reality of careers in a museum or art gallery.

Their daughter Jackie, who graduated in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in art history, attended the first Wladis lecture, featuring Helen C. Evans—a 1965 Newcomb College graduate and the Mary and Michael Jaharis Curator of Byzantine Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For Mark and Diane, their daughter’s experience at Tulane, where she developed her passion for fine arts, inspired their generosity to the university.

“For Jackie, the opportunity to learn firsthand from a curator from the Metropolitan Museum of Art was a particularly unique opportunity that she wouldn't have otherwise been exposed to,” says Mark Wladis. “We hope our gift will give other art history students the opportunity to learn from and meet leaders in their field.”

The Wladises have long been involved with Tulane. Both Diane and Mark served on the Parents Council while Jackie was a student, and Mark currently sits on the School of Liberal Arts Dean’s Advisory Council. “When your child leaves for college,” says Diane, “it is a time for independence for them. You hope you have given them the necessary tools and it’s now up to them to forge their way. By supporting the school, it is an ideal way to stay connected and continue to support their community without getting in their way. You have your finger on the pulse of their new world without interference. You are involved in a way that is separate and yet still elevates their experience.”

The gift made by the Wladis family also demonstrates their strong support for a liberal arts education. According to Mark, “The complex world that our children will be confronting requires critical thinking, cultural sensitivity, and the diverse perspectives that a grounded liberal arts education provides. The broad skill set that a liberal arts education cultivates makes for the most successful and adaptable professionals in any career.”

[School of Liberal Arts Newsletter, 9/13/2017]