Nowhere is the adage about the student giving the teacher lessons more evident than in the UVM Libraries' H. Lawrence McCrorey Gallery of Multicultural Art where student interns act as curators to the collection donated by longtime UVM professor, H. Lawrence McCrorey.  

It was McCrorey's wish that the collection — devoted to displaying works by artists of color — be on display in the library. As a rule, university libraries do not employ curators, and that's where the UVM School of the Arts comes in. 

Art history junior Sofia Tudzarov and environmental sciences major/art minor senior Morgan Doersch are students in the class Campus Arts Project Internship, ARTH – 3991. This class allows UVM students opportunities to be hands-on with art while also allowing for the beautification of campus and care of campus art. 

Several years ago, the current exhibit was chosen from the collection of fifty-or-so works. The interns at that time were involved in the choosing of the art around a central theme, and the hanging of the art, but the short cycle of the semester didn't allow them time to implement the wall text. COVID and other interruptions delayed the text further, but Tudzarov and Doersch viewed wall text as project number one for their fall semester goals. 

"[For an exhibit], the wall text is super important," said Tudzarov. "Wall text allows the viewer to understand what is actually happening in the space, and the exhibit message kind of got lost on us, even as students of art, without it." Tudzarov went on to say that appropriate wall text both respects the creative works, and also the work of the previous interns. 

The current exhibition explores our connection to the environment and its intersections with our identities, religions, cultures, traditions, and histories.

Libraries' director of outreach and process, Meg Thomas, isn't sure how they would do the collection justice without the partnerships in place. "Kelley and these interns, along with our partners in the Fleming, are the true art experts here," Thomas said. "They help the libraries to understand what the priorities need to be, and we support their thinking and let the interns fly." 

Though in and out of the libraries all the time, Morgan Doersch hadn't spent much time looking at the pieces until her internship. "We spent a lot of time synthesizing the information," said Doersch. "Now other UVM students can read about the intersection of race and the environment through the lens of the art by just reading the wall text." 

Wall text install. Pictured (left to right): Morgan Doersch, Suzy Zaner and Sofia Tudzarov

Once their text was drafted and approved by the libraries as well as the internship coordinator, Kelley Di Dio, Rush C. Hawkins professor of art history and executive director of the School of the Arts, the students worked with Fleming Museum preparator, Suzy Zaner, to learn how to cut and install the vinyl wall text.  

"The Campus Art Projects class provides students with hands-on experience and training to curate, install, and catalog works of art — professional skills employers are seeking," said Di Dio. "I am so proud of Sofia, Morgan, and former students Sabina Ward and Eliza Callahan, for their work on the McCrorey collection. It is a significant collection of internationally-renowned artists and we are so fortunate to have it at UVM. I am thrilled the students were able to bring more visibility to it through their curation efforts."

The Fleming's involvement in the Campus Arts Project class is critical to its success each semester, teaching the students the installation techniques. 

"I absolutely see myself using these skills in the future and I plan to go into museum work," said Tudzarov. "So just being able to work alongside Suzy and the Fleming and understand the language and the vocabulary and start to immerse myself in the profession...It's not just a bunch of papers and reading and writing it's actually what I will be doing which is just really great." 

As for Doersch who is not clear on her future career path, she sees great value in the skills she's gleaned from the internship —  "Just the skill of being able to effectively communicate something to the general public is invaluable," Doersch said. 

For the Fleming, the feeling is mutual. 

"Working with students is one of my favorite parts of working at the Fleming Museum of Art and the School of the Arts," said Zaner. "Students are enthusiastic, thoughtful, and bring great ideas to the table. I love teaching them the skills it takes to implement educational, inclusive, and beautiful exhibitions, and to make them ready to enter the field."

These purposeful moments of student success don't feel separate from the legacy of H. Lawrence McCrorey, who was known for his advocacy and musical skills, but most of all, for his teaching. McCrorey joined the then UVM department of physiology and biophysics in 1966. 

"Working with the interns is one of those pinch-me-moments that working on a college campus brings," said Thomas "If the people who work at UVM are doing our jobs well, we're surrounded by students getting better at their crafts and becoming smarter than us every single day. It's hopeful!"  

The McCrorey Gallery is available to any UVM community or Vermont community member that enters the first floor of Howe. The gallery celebrates its 30th year with the libraries this coming year.