Ed and Dottie Fehnel

Scholarships play an integral role in the lives of students at Herron School of Art and Design. Behind each scholarship you’ll find a unique and inspiring story.

Edgar and Dorothy Fehnel, or Ed and Dottie as they are more likely known, have been supporting Herron students since 2000 with two special scholarships—the Fehnel Family Foundation International Study Scholarship and the Fehnel Family Fine Arts Scholarship.

Ed’s career with Eli Lilly and Company, serving as vice president of Lilly International and vice president of Elanco Animal Health, exposed Dottie and their three children to the world.

Elanco’s manager in France had a niece, Claire de la Tour who was an art student. Ed shares, “Our daughter Holly was studying French so we organized a travel abroad trip. Holly visited Claire’s family one summer and Claire stayed with us the next. Before her return to France, we visited the National Gallery and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she shared her knowledge of the collections of French Art.”

He adds, “In 1959, Dottie and I participated in a trip offered by the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) to the Pont Aven School of Art in Brittany, France. We were extremely impressed with the quality of the program and the dedication of its students.”

As an outgrowth of that trip, IMA’s Ellen Lee arranged a meeting with Herron’s dean, Valerie Eickmeier. Soon the Fehnel Family Foundation International Study Scholarship was established to provide support to Herron students studying at Pont Aven.

“The scholarship recipients seemed so inspired and grateful for the experience to study abroad that we soon created another scholarship,” Dottie shares. In 2002, the Fehnel Family Fine Arts Scholarship was established to recognize outstanding undergraduate students who have passed sophomore review and who demonstrate financial need.

“We provide our scholarships because we believe in supporting young artists,” Ed shares. “Each recipient we have met seems extremely dedicated and committed to their educational and artistic goals. We want to help the students have a richer experience and help them attain their dreams and goals.”

The Fehnel scholarships play a significant role in impacting Herron’s students—with 22 students having benefitted from Ed and Dottie’s generosity. The Fehnels enjoy meeting each student and getting to know them a bit better. They have purchased works by scholarship recipient Christie Blizard (B.F.A., 2001) who says the Fehnel Family Foundation International Study Scholarship changed the direction of her academic and professional career.

“Not only was the summer both culturally and intellectually engaging in Pont Aven,” says Christie, “I met a professor from Georgia State University (GSU) in Atlanta who was teaching painting there. She strongly encouraged me to apply to graduate school at GSU. I applied and was accepted with a full tuition waiver and teaching experience for all three years of the program. Upon graduating from GSU with my MFA in 2005, they hired me for a full-time visiting instructor position, which was of tremendous help. I then interviewed for another visiting assistant professor position at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 2006 and my current, tenure track position at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX, where I just completed my fourth year of teaching. It’s hard to believe that the experience of receiving the scholarship changed my life. I am grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Fehnel for their commitment to students in the arts.”

Looking forward, Ed, Dottie and their daughter, IU alumna Holly, are excited about Herron’s new Master of Arts in Art Therapy program. The program, the only one of its kind in Indiana, will welcome its first students in the Fall 2012.

“Supporting young people during the early phase of their lives is what we believe is the most important thing we can do while in this world,” Ed shares. “We focus on the things where we can have meaningful impact.”

Behind every scholarship exists a unique and inspiring story. To learn more about telling your own story by establishing a scholarship, contact Kim Hodges, Office of Development, at 317-278-9472 or kshodges@iu.edu.