Ryan Carrington Recognized by the College of Arts and Sciences
Dr. David E. Logothetti Teaching Award
In recognition for having established among colleagues and students a well-deserved reputation for an energetic, engaging, and effective teaching style, and having demonstrated the ability to motivate other teachers and learners.
It might be at 8 a.m. when Ryan Carrington’s booming baritone echoes through the halls of the Dowd Art and Art History Building. And yet, many of his colleagues in the department of Art and Art History say they appreciate the Carrington wake-up call! This is because Ryan’s boundless enthusiasm lifts the spirits of students and colleagues alike.
Ryan joined the department in 2011 to teach a single sculpture class. Today, as a Teaching Professor, Ryan offers not only sculpture and 3D design classes, but also site-specific art, the senior show production class for all media, and the professional practices in the junior seminar studio art majors. His curricular developments have served all of the studio art majors, leading to stronger capstone exhibitions.
Ryan is also the beloved faculty advisor for the Santa Clara University Student Art League, colloquially known as SCUSAL, which is open to all Santa Clara students whether they are in the art and art history program or not. With his tag line "Makin' Stuff!" Ryan converts students from all over campus into art learners and creators. He has generously mentored students who have gone on to great success, including last year’s valedictorian Simon Lanzoni ’24, who minored in Studio Art. According to alumna Jax Whitham ’21, whose interests ranged from Chemistry to Mechanical Engineering to Studio Art, “My time at Santa Clara would have been incomplete without Ryan Carrington. His dedication and spirit in sculpture, along with his commitment to those seeking to learn, have been transformational both during his classes and long after.”
One colleague notes that Ryan might work with steel and wood, but when it comes to success in the classroom, “even tougher substances, like post-adolescent gloom and stress, melt in the face of his energy and humor.”
Congratulations to Ryan on earning the 2024 David E. Logothetti Teaching Award.