Founders Award for Civic Leadership
For his contributions to the Baltimore community through his leadership at MICA and local organizations involved in the arts.
Though i
t seemed that the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) was taking a chance in hiring the first non-artist in the school’s 184-year history to hold the position of president, the leadership of Fred Lazarus has proven to be the linchpin of its extraordinary success. Since assuming the position in 1978, Lazarus has guided MICA to more than double its enrollment, increase the size of its campus by tenfold, and grow its endowment by more than 25 times. Over the last three decades of his presidency, MICA has created three new research centers, seventeen new undergraduate and graduate programs, and is now listed in the top four MFA graduate programs by US New and World Report. Though impressive on its own, the progress Lazarus has achieved on MICA’s campus is only the beginning of his contributions to the greater Baltimore community. Lending his talents to countless community initiatives, Lazarus has helped the city to become a lively center of culture and prosperity. Lazarus’ expertise in integrating the arts, education and community development can be traced to his training and early career. A graduate of the Harvard Business School, Lazarus put his skills to work for two years in Panama as a member of the Peace Corps, working to develop a business training and education program at a local university. Bringing his goodwill back to the U.S., Lazarus became president of the Washington Council for Equal Business Opportunity, where he helped secure business investment in impoverished areas of our nation’s capital. After a stint as aide to the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Lazarus landed at MICA where he quickly involved himself in the challenges and goals of the surrounding community.
As the founding and current chair of the Central Baltimore Partnership, Lazarus has helped the organization focus existing resources in the community to develop a distinctive culture and an environment welcoming for residency and economic activity. Lazarus has also led an effort to increase home ownership in neglected areas of central Baltimore as a board member of the Midtown Development Corporation. The opening of MICA’s new Graduate Studio Center on a derelict stretch of Baltimore’s North Avenue and Entertainment District led to an incredible revitalization of the area. Now know as Station North, the neighborhood is Maryland’s first officially designated arts and entertainment district and boasts galleries, performance spaces, restaurants, and shops.
Lazarus has tirelessly contributed his skills to the communities in which he finds himself. Through Fred Lazarus’ great vision and civic leadership, MICA and the Baltimore community at large have enjoyed a tremendous rebirth as nationally recognized leaders in the arts and quality of life.