22 • THE GRYPHON Fall/Winter 2019-20
Inspired Teaching Todd Bartel Earns the RISD Art and Design Educator Award
ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, VISUAL ARTS TEACHER Todd Bartel was honored by the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Alumni/ae Association with a newly established Art and Design Educator Award. Todd is the inaugural recipient of the award, which is given to RISD alumni/ae “who demonstrate exceptional skill as an educator or a clear commitment to the field of art education, and are recognized by their peers and students as having shown those qualities that most encourage students to learn and thrive creatively.”
“I feel so humbled and honored to be the inaugural recipient of the Art and Design Educator Award,” Todd shares. “It is wonderful but also overwhelming. This acknowledgment and celebration of my skills as a teacher means a lot to me personally.” It was during his sophomore year in high school when Todd knew he wanted to make a career of teaching, a desire he expressed in his application to RISD. He remembers saying he wanted to paint and to teach — plain and simple. He attributes his interest in teaching to the many great educators that guided and inspired him throughout his own journey as an artist.
