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L to R: Mark Braunstein, Katharine L. McKenna, Film/Video Chair Jorge Oliver, Provost Kirk E. Pillow, and Dean of the School of Art Gerry Snyder.
A fashion student works in the studio.
Gift from Pratt Trustee Katharine L. McKenna Supports State-of-the-Art Film/Video Facility
Gift Honoring Alumna’s Parents to Create Scholarships for Film and Fashion Students
Pratt Trustee and alumna Katharine L. McKenna (M.I.D. ’84) has made a generous gift to support the Institute’s new state-ofthe-art Film/Video Building, which opened on Myrtle Avenue in January 2015. McKenna, who has had successful careers in exhibition design, user interface design, painting, teaching, and gallery management, credits the Institute for her many professional and artistic accomplishments. “I received a top education, skills, connections, and philosophy from Pratt and want to help others have the same opportunities that arose for me after graduating from Pratt,” she said.
Pratt alumna Lily Pao Hsu (B.F.A. Fashion ’73) and her husband, Dr. Tony S. Hsu, have made a generous contribution to the Institute to create the Yunni and Maxine Pao Memorial Scholarships. Named for Lily Pao Hsu’s late parents, the awards will provide partial tuition to outstanding incoming students in Pratt film and fashion programs who also demonstrate financial need. The scholarships, which will first be awarded in the 2016–17 academic year, are renewable for four years provided the recipients remain in good academic standing.
In recognition of McKenna’s support for the Film/Video Building, the Institute has named the screening room for her. The Katharine L. McKenna Screening Room was dedicated on February 2 in a ceremony that included the presentation of several films by current students in the Institute’s top-ranked Film/Video program. These included Spectrum, by Savannah Magruder (B.F.A. Film ’16); Nowhere But Here, by Dylan Pailes-Friedman (B.F.A. Film ’17) and Dakota Pailes-Friedman (B.F.A. Film ’15); La Proxima Semana, by Alvaro Ceballos (B.F.A. Film ’17); and Suburbia, by Jenna Nash (B.F.A. Film ’18).
In establishing this scholarship, Lily Pao Hsu aims to acknowledge and perpetuate the philanthropic spirit of her parents. The Hsus chose to support Pratt film and fashion students because of their personal connections to these disciplines. Lily Pao Hsu graduated from the Institute’s Fashion program, and the couple’s daughter, Alexandra, is a filmmaker.