The daily trek of the 5,000 or so students who attend classes at Schoenbaum Hall takes them past a brief survey of art history displayed in the building’s hallways, student lounges and offices.

Similarly, the thousands of students, executives and guests who attend classes, seminars and meetings in Gerlach, Mason, Pfahl and Fisher halls—or who simply stop in to tour the buildings—can view a comprehensive collection of international and regional art in a variety of genres.

The artwork is more than adornment for new buildings, said David Cole, Fisher College emeritus faculty member and head of the college’s building planning committee.
“We all have busy schedules, and it is easy to get caught up in our to-do lists. Bringing art into our daily environment helps us remember that we are human beings capable of self-expression, of creativity.”

The collection includes more than 70 original works by renowned regional and national artists. Among them is a bronze of the college’s namesake, Max Fisher, sculpted by Jerome Soble and displayed in the Klevay Conference Room in the Schottenstein Dean’s Suite; an illuminated blown glass display of hats entitled Ruth King, exhibited in the Bank One Graduate Student Lounge (shown at left); eight-foot marble, mosaic and steel floor medallions in the foyer of each building created by Barbara Kruger; a wood carving by LaVon Van Williams, Jr. in Schoenbaum Hall (shown above); an original computer-generated graphic by Charles Csuri, an Ohio State emeritus professor, in Gerlach Hall; and works by Mary Fisher, Bernadine Silberman, Mary Beam and Charlotte Lees.

“The process of business education—even in facilities admired for their architecture and technological sophistication and led by quality faculty—is further enriched by displays of artistic expression,” Alutto said. “That is what helps to create a complete individual, armed not only with skills for commerce but with an appreciation for that which touches the inner being and makes life complete.”

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