Grounds for Sculpture

Grounds For Sculpture welcomes four new board members

Hamilton - Grounds For Sculpture (GFS), the 42-acre sculpture park and arboretum in Hamilton, has announced the addition of four new members to its board of trustees. They were elected to office at GFS's Dec. 2 annual meeting.

The new trustees include philanthropist Tracy Dickinson, strategic planner Barbara Lawrence, former foundation leader Scott McVay, and communications specialist Esther Novak. The new trustees join attorney Eric Ryan (president), business leader and artist Gordon Gund (vice-president), attorney and foundation director Roger Toner, entrepreneur and scientist Dr. Gregory Olson, and sculptor Elizabeth Strong-Cuevos, as well as the esteemed trustee emeritus and GFS founder, J. Seward Johnson. The nearly doubling of board size comes on the very eve of GFS's expected year-long endeavor to create a new strategic plan for a self-sustaining future.

Of the new Trustees, GFS executive director David Miller remarked, "Grounds For Sculpture is a cultural gem on the precipice of great things to come. Now more than ever it requires a robust and richly talented board. So we are absolutely delighted to welcome Tracy, Scott, Esther, and Barbara, each of whom brings not only a profound understanding of the power of art, but specific areas of acumen and accomplishment that will be vital to our future. With their guidance and leadership, GFS will continue its determined progress to grow into a cultural destination of international renown."

Tracy Dickinson, of Park Ridge, is a former emergency medical healthcare professional and a longstanding member of the Lake Erie College Board of Directors where she endowed six scholarships for students majoring in the liberal arts and sciences. She received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999 and was named a Sesquicentennial Fellow in 2000. In addition she serves as the research chair of the Endometriosis Association at Dartmouth Medical School and is a volunteer and board member of the National Endometriosis Association. Granddaughter of Fairleigh Dickinson, Tracy is widely known as a generous and thoughtful supporter of numerous civic and cultural endeavors.

Grounds For Sculpture, located in Hamilton, New Jersey (midway between Philadelphia and New York), is a 42-acre sculpture garden and arboretum on the former site of the New Jersey State Fairgrounds. Founded by Seward Johnson to promote an understanding and appreciation of contemporary sculpture, the park has been enchanting visitors since 1992. Grounds For Sculpture features more than 270 contemporary sculptures, and three museum galleries with rotating exhibits. In addition, the park offers workshops for children and adults, concerts, performances, fairs, shopping and fine dining at the Zagat's-rated Rat's Restaurant.

Visit groundsforsculpture.org for more information. Park hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., January through November. Open until 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays in December. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $8 for students; children 5 and under are free.