In 1996, Patricia and Rowland Rebele pledged an irrevocable gift to the University of California Santa Cruz Foundation in the amount of $250,000 to create the Patricia and Rowland Rebele Endowed Chair in History of Art and Visual Culture.
The purpose of the Patricia and Rowland Rebele Endowed Chair in History of Art and Visual Culture is to strengthen the study of History of Art and Visual Culture at UCSC, to enhance the scholarly experience for generations of students and faculty to come, and to forge new and creative links between UCSC's History of Art and Visual Culture program and the larger Santa Cruz arts community.
Patricia Rebele was a 1988 graduate of UCSC with a love of art history. The Chair supports excellence in the history of art and visual culture program and increases its national and international visibility and impact, making a significant difference to future generations of students.
Professor Raoul Birnbaum will serve as Rebele Chair from July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2008. Professor Birnbaum's five-year project, Portrait/Biography, will investigate key issues surrounding portraits and biographies in different geographical, cultural, and historical contexts. Each year he will organize focused mini-conferences on a common theme or subject as well as public events with individual guest speakers.
