On May 15, RWC unveiled a poignant new memorial to Bob Hagerty, the Professor of Art and Visual Design who died in July 2001. The memorial, located in the RWC Library, consists of one of Hagerty’s art works, a piece titled “Carapace,” one of a series of eight pen and ink drawings that constituted the show “Things Left Behind,” first shown at the college in 1995. Hagerty drew the series in response to the life and death of his lover, Mickey O’Donnell, who died of AIDS.
Hagerty was hired in 1986 as the second full-time faculty member in the Art and Visual Communication program. In 1999, he was the first professor from one of UC’s regional campuses to win the prestigious George B. Barbour award for outstanding service to students.
“Bob Hagerty gave his all to his art and to his students,” Dean Barbara Bardes said during dedication ceremonies. “There was no way for any of us to know that his time with us was short.