Top art college honors VC teacher
Daniel Weldon
Issue date: 5/9/05 Section: A & E
Otis college of Art and Design is not only one of the top art schools in the state, but it's also one of the top in the country.
So when VC art teacher and current chair of the art department, Bob Moskowitz, was elected Teacher of the Year by Otis, he said he felt quite honored. However, he was reluctant to take all of the credit and said, instead, that he feels it's a collaboration of the school, the faculty and the students that is responsible.
"It's a really nice honor, but I feel like I have to accept this on behalf of the whole department. And the honor, the way I look at it, reflects the entire department and our history and our traditions and how well we are thought of out there in the world," he said.
In fact, the admissions department at Otis calls the VC art department the best in Southern California. With teachers like Bob Moskowitz, who are so passionate about not only art, but their students, it makes VC a prime destination for recruiters from four-year universities all over the nation.
Ventura College has a great reputation, and recruiters tend to like our students because they have great portfolios and are always prepared, due to VC's solid Foundation program
Moskowitz, who has been teaching for 26 years, has been at VC for seven years and has been chair of the art department for three.
Moskowitz grew up in Philadelphia. He was active in sports and played football and baseball throughout college. Although he received a bachelor's degree in liberal arts, he says that it was after that when he decided to go to art school.
"I realized maybe later than for some people. I didn't go to college as an art major, but I took enough art classes to know that that's what I wanted to do."
He then transferred to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, the oldest art school in the country, which he attended for four years. After finishing there, he moved to St. Louis, Mo. to attend the fine arts graduate program at Washington University. While working as a graduate assistant, he landed his first teaching position at Southern Illinois University.
Moskowitz said he cannot pick just one favorite memory from VC, but he does say it is all about the students.
"Every time a student makes a breakthrough ... that's probably why most of us are in teaching. It's just all of a sudden, the material clicks and the student gets it, and it's wonderful ... the students, in an instant, move to the next level. That's kind of what keeps people going, keeps people involved," he said.
So when VC art teacher and current chair of the art department, Bob Moskowitz, was elected Teacher of the Year by Otis, he said he felt quite honored. However, he was reluctant to take all of the credit and said, instead, that he feels it's a collaboration of the school, the faculty and the students that is responsible.
"It's a really nice honor, but I feel like I have to accept this on behalf of the whole department. And the honor, the way I look at it, reflects the entire department and our history and our traditions and how well we are thought of out there in the world," he said.
In fact, the admissions department at Otis calls the VC art department the best in Southern California. With teachers like Bob Moskowitz, who are so passionate about not only art, but their students, it makes VC a prime destination for recruiters from four-year universities all over the nation.
Ventura College has a great reputation, and recruiters tend to like our students because they have great portfolios and are always prepared, due to VC's solid Foundation program
Moskowitz, who has been teaching for 26 years, has been at VC for seven years and has been chair of the art department for three.
Moskowitz grew up in Philadelphia. He was active in sports and played football and baseball throughout college. Although he received a bachelor's degree in liberal arts, he says that it was after that when he decided to go to art school.
"I realized maybe later than for some people. I didn't go to college as an art major, but I took enough art classes to know that that's what I wanted to do."
He then transferred to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, the oldest art school in the country, which he attended for four years. After finishing there, he moved to St. Louis, Mo. to attend the fine arts graduate program at Washington University. While working as a graduate assistant, he landed his first teaching position at Southern Illinois University.
Moskowitz said he cannot pick just one favorite memory from VC, but he does say it is all about the students.
"Every time a student makes a breakthrough ... that's probably why most of us are in teaching. It's just all of a sudden, the material clicks and the student gets it, and it's wonderful ... the students, in an instant, move to the next level. That's kind of what keeps people going, keeps people involved," he said.