President Bridges surprised with birthday portraits
This week, a special celebration for President Steve Bridges’ 60th birthday boasted more than a few surprises. The President's Office and President’s Cabinet surprised Bridges with a party, a birthday cake and 10 handmade, paint-by-number portraits to celebrate the milestone and honor his lifelong commitment to USI.
Inspired during a Cabinet meeting while discussing Bridges’ official presidential portrait, Dr. Shelly Blunt, Provost, saw an opportunity to make the President’s upcoming birthday memorable by employing the “wide spectrum” of artistic talent in the President’s Office. She rounded up the team, they dug up a variety of photos and a company sent back painting kits to be worked on in secret.
“We all know the President loves a good laugh,” said Blunt. “Each participant received a paint-by-number portrait and what appeared to be a fairly straightforward assignment. It was not.”
The artistic work quickly devolved into hours of squinting at tiny numbers and searching for magnifying glasses, phoning friends and family members for help, and questioning color placements and the feasibility of the project. Nevertheless, the team persevered, and the result was 10 hand-painted masterpieces of varying artistic skill and styles, some of which certainly earned a few laughs from President Bridges.
“The portraits represent creativity, teamwork, determination and a group of colleagues willing to spend hours straining their eyes in honor of someone we all admire and appreciate,” said Blunt. “Whether these portraits belong in a museum remains to be seen. Whether they'll be remembered forever is not in doubt.”
Paint-By-Number Presidential Portraits
Carey Beury, Executive Associate to the President
Jeff Sickman, Vice President for Finance and Administration
Kindra Strupp, Vice President for Marketing and Communication
Dr. Shelly Blunt, Provost
Dr. Abeer Mustafa, Vice President for Student Affairs
Jon Mark Hall, Vice President and Director of Athletics
Andrea Gentry, Vice President for Development
Zach LaGrange, Vice President for Government Affairs and General Counsel
Nita Musich, Senior Executive Assistant to the President for Board and Executive Relations