William S. Morris Eminent Scholar in Art named

Augusta State University has named renowned artist Tom Nakashima to the prestigious William S. Morris Eminent Scholar in Art Chair.

An internationally distinguished artist, Nakashima has showcased his artwork in numerous solo and joint art exhibitions in such noted galleries as the Steinbaum Krauss Gallery, New York, N.Y.; Yamanashi Prefecture Museum of Art, Kofu, Japan; the Washington Moscow Art Exchange, Moscow State Tretyakov Gallery; and multiple shows at the Anton Gallery in Washington, D.C.

He has also received a number of grants and awards including the Mid-Atlantic/NEA Regional Visual Arts Fellowship in 1992 and 1996, the National Printmaking Fellowship in 1993, and most recently in 2002, the Individual Arts Fellowship from the Virginia Commission for the Arts. Nakashima has also served on the Pyramid Atlantic advisory board for six years and also served on the Awards Committee for the College of Art Association's Distinguished Body of Work in 1994 and 1995.

His artwork is included in numerous museum, university, corporate, and private collections including the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institute; Georgia Museum of Art; University of Georgia; L’Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia; Merrill Lynch, Washington, D.C.; The Hyatt Regency, Arlington, Va.; and UNITAS, Kofu, Japan.

Nakashima joins the ASU faculty after serving 20 years as an art professor, and the past year as chair of the art department at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. He begins teaching classes at ASU fall semester 2002.

Nakashima acquired his Master of Fine Arts in 1968 from the University of Notre Dame, his Master of Arts in 1967, also from Notre Dame, and his Bachelor of Arts from Loras College in 1966.

The $1 million endowed chair position was established in 1988 and named after the late William S. Morris, publisher of The Augusta Chronicle, to attract prominent art scholars to join the ASU faculty.

Nakashima was selected from a pool of approximately 100 candidates from the art and academic communities.

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