This spring through summer, from our gardens to our graduation venues, we are celebrating many changes at Cranbrook. Our beloved Director of Schools is retiring, the Director of Cranbrook Academy and Art Museum is leaving us for a new position, tours of Cranbrook's newest architectural treasure are beginning, and many more milestones are in store.

 

After 47 years of exceptional service to Cranbrook Educational Community, our students and the international world of independent schools, Arlyce Seibert will be retiring from Cranbrook in August. During her tenure, including 23 years as Director of Schools, Cranbrook has grown into one of the largest and most prestigious independent schools in the Midwest. Arlyce has brought to Cranbrook the brightest visions and strongest ideals. I hope that you will join me in thanking Arlyce for all that she has done for Cranbrook and Cranbrook Schools.

 

As you might imagine, replacing a dynamic and inspirational leader like Arlyce was no easy task. After a national search, I feel extraordinarily fortunate that Cranbrook Schools will welcome Aimeclaire Lambert Roche as the next Director of Cranbrook Schools. Aimeclaire brings to Cranbrook over 30 years of leadership and expertise in education, most recently serving as the Head of The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California and President of the Board of Directors at the California Association of Independent Schools. We expect Aimeclaire to arrive on campus in early August.

 

This is a historic transition for Cranbrook and I am confident that Aimeclaire is the right person to lead the Schools into its second century and elevate our students, faculty, and administration to even greater heights of success and accomplishment. I hope you take the opportunity to join me in welcoming Aimeclaire to Cranbrook.

 

Chris Scoates has resigned as Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum effective June 30, 2018. Chris has held the position for four years and has helped us begin to transform the Academy of Art. We wish Chris the best in his new position as Director of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York.

 

I am pleased to welcome John Berry as Acting Director of the Academy of Art while we plan a national search for a permanent director. John experienced the Academy firsthand as a student, and has remained involved with the Academy. He has served on the Academy's National Advisory Council and has experience working with our students and Artists-in-Residence on a number of different projects. His understanding of the Academy and broad experience will be invaluable during our transition. John begins on June 18.

 

On June 24, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research will celebrate the addition of the Frank Lloyd Wright Smith House to Cranbrook's collection of historic homes with A House Party fundraiser. Smith House was donated to Cranbrook Educational Community by The Towbes Foundation with support from Anne Smith Towbes and the late Michael Towbes. Cranbrook is extremely fortunate to have received this incredible acquisition and I encourage you to join an upcoming tour to learn about the home and its connection to Cranbrook. To schedule a tour through the Smith House or to know more about its many connections to Cranbrook, I invite you to explore the Center's website: https://center.cranbrook.edu/visit/frank-lloyd-wright-smith-house.

 

At Cranbrook Institute of Science, the changing exhibit hall will transition from Ancient Rome to Da Vinci Machines and Robotics this July. If you haven't already done so, I recommend viewing the Ancient Rome exhibition before it closes on July 3. The exhibition also provides a great interactive learning opportunity for kids and adults alike! Cranbrook Art Museum will dive head first into punk and post-punk culture this summer with the debut of the exhibitions Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die: Punk Graphics, 1976-1986 and Shepard Fairey: Salad Days, 1989-1999 on June 16. Visit their website for a full list of summer events, film screenings and other programs that will look at one of the most important cultural movements of the twentieth century.

 

Once again, we have sponsorship support that allows admission to the Cranbrook Gardens free of charge. In addition to a new Butterfly Garden and pattern of annuals in the Sunken Garden, I am looking forward to the installation of large archival photographs that will allow us to see the gardens as they were back when George and Ellen Booth were first developing their estate, while experiencing the present plantings of the gardens.

 

Cranbrook is a beautiful place during the spring and summer months to plan a visit. The Community has every aspect of nature all around us. I believe it is consistent with what Mr. and Mrs. Booth had in mind when they first built the Cranbrook Schools, and subsequently the Cranbrook House library where the following words are inscribed in the fireplace over-mantle: "Nature I Loved and Next to Nature, Art." I hope you have the chance to immerse yourself in education, science, art and nature this summer. Our 319-acre campus is the perfect place to do just that. Please accept my personal invitation to visit Cranbrook with your family and friends. As always, please feel free to notify me if there is anything I can do to make your visit more enjoyable.

 

Sincerely,