Message from the President

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As I write my first annual report as the President of IDSVA in between summer residencies, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for these first 14 months on the job. It has been an extraordinary year, and while there are too many generous contributors to thank each and every one by name, but all are equally deserving of my appreciation. The strength of our “coming community” rests first of all on our students: the raison d’être of our educational model founded by Professor George Smith in Portland, Maine, and since projected worldwide for 19 years now to fulfill its mission to nurture artist-philosophers of the future. 

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A Successful Admissions Season

As for our immediate future, we have been successful in meeting our enrollment target and bringing in a new cohort of 17 PhD students, who show an impressive range of geo-cultural backgrounds, research interests and professional accomplishments – as practicing artists, teachers, curators, museum directors, designers, community organizers, and much more. Students introduced themselves to their cohort at the annual summer residency in Spannocchia, Italy, where first-year students spend two intensive weeks in IDSVA’s signature art-and-theory bootcamp and learn the ropes of academic writing while getting to know one another as lifetime fellow learners. These in-person relationships forged between students,  faculty, and staff  alike sustained them throughout the year as they engaged in online courses and seminars. This hybrid learning environment is what keeps our community of teachers and learners varied and vibrant – with faculty and students hailing from coast to coast in the US, and from Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia. Special acknowledgement is due  to the Director of Admissions, Molly Davis, and to the Admissions committee – comprising the program Director, Silvia Mazzini, core faculty member Dejan Lukic, and CEO Amy Curtis – for their insightful discernment when recruiting these promising candidates for our PhD program.

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IDSVA Board Expands

Following our Commencement weekend, I am particularly proud to have hosted the first Board members’ retreat in New York City, and welcomed four new members to the Board of Directors of IDSVA in these last few months: Dr. Kathe Albrecht, Sheila Devine, Dr. Mike Hogan, and Eric Snyder joined a group of extraordinarily dedicated and heterogeneous individuals who deeply care about our mission and greatly contribute and expand the impact of IDSVA. The new Chair of the board, Dr. Paul Armstrong, succeeded Paul McDonald at the helm of the Board in May 2024, who was celebrated with a dinner party in Portland, ME, hosted by Board member Sheila Devine. Under this new leadership, the Board is poised to meet the challenges ahead and reach the goals of the Strategic Plan we launched in October 2024. Cultivating new members and supporters of IDSVA will be at the forefront of our activities as we enter the next academic year and look ahead to the 20^th anniversary celebrations in 2026-27.

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Launching a New Fundraising Program

With the Board and our CEO, Amy Curtis, in this past year we’ve been laying the ground to build a more robust, mission-centered fundraising program, as per our Strategic Plan approved in 2024. Our primary focus is a simple one: to be able to support our students and raise the scholarship ratio. Relieving the debt burden for our students and eventually providing the IDSVA PhD degree with no debt is our end goal.

As ambitious and challenging as this task may be, we believe that this moment offers us an unprecedented opportunity to create new connections and to bring potential supporters into the fold so that they become part of the living experience and the legacy of our institution. Through their gifts, each and every donor will know that they contributed in significant ways to the advancement of a distinct American educational idea, where rigorous education in the arts and the humanities leads to the kind of knowledge and experiences that make a difference in people’s lives and communities. This is the kind of knowledge and experience that underpin IDSVA’s mission from its founding and that continue to sustain it as we enter the next phase of its history. As our school evolves and adapts to a rapidly changing environment, we find it crucial to reflect upon our principles and better define what makes us a unique experiment in higher education, devoted to forming artist-philosophers and providing the intellectual tools for students to reimagine the world.

Over the summer months we’ll continue working on drafting the new IDSVA mission statement, which is scheduled to take effect by the end of the year. We’ll also take time to update our website. Many thanks to our communication team – Molly Davis, Jessica Myer, and Amy Curtis  – for creating the conditions for us to showcase what we do in ever more effective ways.

In the meantime, I encourage you to join us in our efforts to support the work of our students. Every donation counts, and will make a difference in their lives: https://www.idsva.edu/giving

Thank you!

Simonetta Moro, 

IDSVA President 

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