Glen Beebe Scholarship Endowment
Glen Beebe arrived in Greeley on a bus in 1968 planning to study zoology. But he soon realized that he didn’t want to teach and UNC’s (then Colorado State College) program at that time was geared toward educators, so he turned to his other favorite subject – art. After a quick lesson in the economics of being an artist, he considered technical or medical illustration. But then he came upon an even better idea. With the help of his professors, Beebe went to work to design and create his own UNC degree in the relatively new field of graphic design.
His UNC education had definitely put him on the right track. After completing his bachelor’s degree in graphic arts at UNC, he got a job at a print shop in Fort Collins and did freelance work for a Greeley bank, even painting their logo on a soapbox derby car they sponsored.
Soon, his Northwest roots called to him and Beebe moved back to his hometown of Seattle. A major U.S. company saw the value in his work and his vision, and Beebe landed his career job at The Boeing Company. Beebe worked for the aerospace manufacturing giant for 30 years, as a technical illustrator, graphic designer and as a “proposal king,” helping to market Boeing’s innovation and expertise to the public and private sectors, working on projects like the Boeing International Space Station.
Today, Glen, his wife Susan and daughter Kathryn live in Seattle where he is known for his button collection, photography and digital restoration of vintage images. One of which, the Greeley Series, is a collection of photographs taken during his time at UNC and are available in UNC’s archives.
He is also a self-proclaimed organizer and collector and even has some old Colorado State College course catalogs and The Mirror newspapers.
“When I graduated, illustration and design was done by Rapideograph pens and Exacto knives. Now that has become a lost art form. On the computer, design has grown in sophistication and quality, but the principles of design remain. There is now a much steeper financial barrier to learning, and the tools used in graphic design are expensive. By establishing this fund, I want to assist those interested in graphic design as a career but who otherwise might not be able to due to financial considerations.”
It is fitting that the Glen Beebe Scholarship Endowment is the first endowment at UNC that strictly supports graphic design students, since Glen was the university’s first graphic design student.
