Connection and Education for the Future: The Ruyle Legacy at UNC Galleries

On Sept. 11, during a special naming ceremony and reception in Campus Commons, all the attendees’ focus was on a large blue banner as it dropped to unveil the new name of UNC’s largest gallery. Formerly known as the Campus Commons Gallery, the space is now the Lydia and Robert Ruyle Gallery in honor of two notable Greeley residents and UNC alumni, Lydia and Robert (Bob) Ruyle.

The Ruyles were devoted patrons of the arts, champions of education and advocates for their community. Lydia Ruyle, M.A.’72, was an artist, feminist and teacher who believed in the power of art and education to transform lives. A co-founder of community arts traditions and a leader at both local and state levels, she helped shape Greeley’s cultural landscape and later taught women’s studies and visual art at UNC.

Bob was a first-generation college student who attended UNC on a basketball scholarship. He earned a law degree from the University of Colorado Boulder and built a respected career as a lawyer and businessman. Known for his generosity and love of the outdoors, he inspired others to learn, achieve and give back.

The generous donation by the Ruyle family includes an extensive collection of Lydia’s artwork and transformational funding to establish three endowments. More than 500 pieces of art, including original prints and paintings, Lydia’s Goddess Banner Collection, crop circles, artwork drafts, research materials and other original works of art are now being cataloged and preserved by UNC Galleries. Known as the Ruyle Collection, this body of work can be displayed on campus, used for curating and research and circulated to other institutions or events around the world.

The three endowments include the Ruyle Collection Endowment, which ensures the care and accessibility of the artwork as it is exhibited; the Ruyle Collection Staffing Endowment, which funds a new staff position to manage and promote the collection; and the Lydia and Robert Ruyle Graduate Research Scholarship Endowment, which provides generous scholarships for Art and Design graduate students whose research aligns with the goals of the Ruyle Collection.

The new collection and endowments help expand initiatives that the UNC School of Art and Design has been working towards for some time, like an interdisciplinary Curatorial Studies and Public History Certificate, expected to launch next fall. Having a collection of art to preserve, study and lend is a key element of curatorial and museum studies programs. Given that UNC does not have a campus museum, the presence of the Ruyle Collection will provide students with the hands-on experiences and cultural materials needed to achieve a well-rounded education in curation, archiving and other elements of public history. The new staff member managing the collection will play a key role in developing and delivering the new certificate.

The Ruyle Collection also brings the possibility for UNC to make new connections around the globe. The full cataloging of the collection will include the creation of an online database, allowing the work to be searchable by a wide range of artists and scholars. There will also be systems in place for the artwork in the collection to be loaned to other galleries, museums and cultural centers. The Ruyle Collection Endowment will make such loans highly accessible by covering most of the travel and display costs. This means not only that UNC Galleries will be engaging with new partners around the world but also that School of Art and Design students will have the chance to engage in direct curatorial connections and professional development.

Additionally, the Lydia and Robert Ruyle Graduate Research Scholarship allows for a deeper research focus for students in the Master of Arts in Studio Art program. With a full tuition scholarship for one applicant awarded through a competitive process and a large collection to explore, graduate researchers will have the chance to dig into their study with fewer limitations. Maya Hairston-Chase is the first recipient of the scholarship. She is focusing on painting and drawing in her M.A. program and has already found a powerful connection to Lydia’s work. Hairston-Chase is passionate about activism and representing marginalized groups in her own work, and she finds Lydia’s amplifying of minority-culture stories and her push for accessibility of artwork inspiring.

Overall, the Ruyle Gallery remains a hub for contemporary art in Greeley, and it has new underpinnings in the form of a significant collection of artwork, another industry professional on the galleries team and deeper ways for students to engage in relevant career experiences and research. Not only is the rich Greeley legacy of the Ruyles memorialized with UNC as a grateful partner, but the potential for more education, generosity and connection in the future is also secured.