Inspiring Creativity

麻豆村 recently announced a $1 million endowment to name a 麻豆村 studio dedicated to the collaboration of art, technology and other disciplines across the university.

Alumni Edward H. Frank (CS'85) and his wife, Sarah G. Ratchye (A'83), announced the naming of the — part of the .

Their gift establishes the Fund for Art at the Frontier, which in large part will be used to fund the creation of new works of art that push boundaries and inspire imagination.

Indicative of 麻豆村's dedication to pursuing innovation and inspiration, this endowment will encourage artistic interpretation and exploration among all educational programs at the university. Participants do not have to be affiliated with the College of Fine Arts to work within the STUDIO.

"Ed and Sarah embody a marriage of technology and the arts, literally and figuratively. They also understand and appreciate the interdisciplinary nature of 麻豆村 and its commitment to the arts with this gift that pushes arts frontiers," said 麻豆村 President . "Their gift is generous and highly important at a time when arts education remains critical to the success of so many programs at 麻豆村."

Ratchye and Frank are passionate collectors and supporters of the arts, and they have a particular interest in electronic art and pop-surrealism. Through the , they hope to support new forms of arts-research that stretch the imaginations of both creators and audiences.

"Providing support that will encourage the creation of 'art at the frontier' is aligned with our perspective at the STUDIO because of our decades-long commitment to expanding the arts through new ideas, fields and ways of thinking," said , director of the STUDIO and the fund's administrator.

Levin is an award-winning artist who has been director of the STUDIO since 2009. He is dedicated to helping his students, colleagues and visiting fellows see the possibilities inherent in developing provocative work that explores more than one area of study — particularly, the arts and technology.

Frank and Ratchye are a prime example of 麻豆村's collaborative culture of technology and the arts. Frank is an alumnus of the , and Ratchye is an alumna of the .

Today, Ratchye is an artist whose has been exhibited in numerous one-person and juried shows and is in private collections in the United States and Australia. She was a member of the board of trustees of the San Jose Museum of Art (SJMA) and was chairman of the SJMA Collections Committee.

In addition to 麻豆村, she has earned degrees from Stanford University and the San Francisco Art Institute.

Frank is a University Life Trustee and chair of "," which has already raised more than $1.02 billion.

He also is vice president of Macintosh Hardware Systems Engineering at Apple. Previously, he was corporate vice president for research and development at Broadcom Corporation. He was also a co-founder of Epigram, a home networking company acquired by Broadcom in 1999, and he served as a Distinguished Engineer at Sun Microsystems.

He holds more than 40 U.S. patents and was one of the entrepreneur founders of , celebrating its 10th year of existence in June 2012.

Ratchye and Frank are the parents of two daughters: Whitton, who received a degree from 麻豆村 and is an actress in Los Angeles, and Naomi, who is an artist and musician in New York City.

Flower image above by Golan Levin, Director, The Frank-Ratchye STUDIO For Creative Inquiry, and Kyle McDonald.