MICA President Fred Lazarus announced his retirement in April,
marking an end to an impressive, if unlikely, academic career that
transformed the school and the area around it.

In a memo informing colleagues of his decision, Lazarus noted that he
initially expected the job to last “three to five years,” but it turned
out to be a 35-year run. “When I started, I did not have the
traditional background that one should have had,” he wrote. “I was not
an artist, I had never worked in higher education, and I am even color
blind . . . [I] have always been grateful to the college for taking such
a risk.”

It certainly paid off, as Lazarus leaves behind a much different
institution than he inherited. MICA has, over the past three decades,
grown into a top-tier art school, one that attracts distinguished
faculty and students from all over the world, thanks largely to
Lazarus’s visionary leadership and fundraising skills.

During his tenure, MICA evolved into a residential campus,
constructed high-profile buildings like the Brown Center and its Gateway
residence facility, and expanded its footprint into surrounding
neighborhoods. As a result, it has played an important role in the
revitalization of the city.

There would be no Station North without MICA, no transformation of
the North Avenue area that’s now home to various arts venues and clubs,
and probably no City Arts apartments or Baltimore Design School in
Greenmount West. Ultimately, it all goes back to Lazarus, who figures to
be a hard act to follow.

“I still do not know why I was hired.”—Fred Lazarus