American College of the Building Arts

Annual Donor Report FY 2017-2018

FY 2017-2018 brings accreditation, new programs,

largest freshman class to date, 100% graduate employment
Thanks to our many supporters,
this year has been an incredible
one for the American College of
the Building Arts. Much of the
year was dedicated to an
intensive self-study as ACBA
sought national accreditation
through the Accrediting
Commission of Career Schools
and Colleges, hard work that paid
off as that accreditation was
awarded earlier this month.
Accreditation ensures that
employers and graduate schools
will know what we’ve known for
a long time: that students who
graduate from this unique
institution bring the requisite
skills and broad educational
background needed to excel.
Accreditation will allow our
graduates to further their
education beyond the bachelor’s
level. Our students will be eligible
for federal loans and ACBA for
federal grants. As a result of the
self-study, a new Department of
Student Services was added, and
a third-party survey confirmed
that 29 out of 30 ACBA
graduates queried were employed
in their professional field. ACBA
attracted a good deal of national
attention this year (see page 3),
resulting in the largest freshman
class to date: 37.
All of this has been the result of
your support. Thank you, as we
continue educating artisans,
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Colby M. Broadwater III

ACBA is the nation’s only nonprofit, four-year college that integrates a core liberal arts
curriculum with rigorous training in the traditional building arts. Our graduates not
only know how to perform their trade expertly, they also are educated to think
critically and understand the context of a society’s built environment within a larger
worldview. Since the time of the pyramids, our built environment has reflected our
values and accomplishments as a society. Therefore it is important that we take care
in shaping that which in turn shapes us.
FY 2017-2018 Annual Donor Report
Second ACBA student wins
prestigious international award
Iron graduate Joe Whisonant ’18
has become one of only eight
Americans, and the second ACBA
graduate, to receive the prestigious
American Friends of the Coubertin
Fellowship, a highly competitive
award that allows promising young
professionals in woodwork,
metalwork or stonework to train at
the Coubertin Foundation outside of
Paris, France.
Meghan Shogan ‘11 became the
second American and first woman
to receive the fellowship seven years
ago. Addison de Lisle, an ACBA
adjunct iron professor, also was
recognized with this award in 2014.
“Having had two of our ACBA
students and an instructor
recognized with this top interna-
tional award says a lot about the
quality of the education and training
students receive here,” President
Broadwater said.
Whisonant stands with his Capstone Project, a
reproduction of the colonial lamp stand, c. 1735,
that adorns the entrance to South Carolina
Society Hall at 72 Meeting St.
ACBA introduces new specialization
in Classical Architecture and Design
This year ACBA introduced its
first new specialization since the
school’s founding in 2004: a
Bachelor of Science in Classical
Architecture and Design.
In announcing the new program,
President Broadwater noted that
educators and trade professionals
across the nation have expressed
the need to infuse the trades with
a background in traditional
methodology, as architectural
programs around the country
move further away from
practical models and more
toward theoretical models.
“A shift away from the practical
is antithetical to the ideas set
forth in founding ACBA,” said
Architecture Professor William
Bates, adding that a review of
architectural programs across the
country found no programs
specifically integrating ACBA’s
day-to-day, hands-on educa-
tional approach to building a
bridge of understanding between
the trades and architects.
ACBA’s curriculum will focus
on the foundations of classical
and traditional design. Students
will be exposed to Old and New
World materials and how these
ancient formulae informed the
world’s built environments in
millennia past and how they can
inform into the future.
Naming opportunities to support this new
initiative are available. Contact Leigh
Handal, Director of Advancement,
handall@buildingartscollege.us.
 3

Popular PBS series, This Old House, features ACBA

One of the highlights of this past
fiscal year was the national
exposure ACBA, its students and
faculty gained by being promi-
nently featured on the popular
PBS show, This Old House. The
show’s 39th season featured the
renovation of a c. 1840 house in
Charleston’s historic Anson-
borough neighborhood.
Mark Regalbutto, a member of
Urban Charleston LLC,
suggested the school’s
participation to the show’s
producers. Episode 18 features a
tour of the College and Episode
23 features several student Iron students fashioned a new iron
interviews. The entire season can
gate for the property being renovated
on This Old House. In addition to
be viewed at
the show, ACBA received a range of
https://www.thisoldhouse.com/
national media coverage this year.
watch/old-house-tv.
Here are a few snippets of what the
Admissions Director Synetta writers are saying.

ACBA’s Program Advisory Lawson credits the show with “The new construction sector needs
Council and principal in Renew helping recruit this fall’s largest skilled labor and new businesses, and
freshman class to date. ACBA is a wellspring.” – Forbes
Magazine, September 2018

“[Their] goal is producing

thoughtful, well-rounded artisans
who can think beyond the next job –
graduates who become industry
leaders with vision.” – Garden &
Gun Magazine, January 2018

“I think it (ACBA) should be a

Above: A crowd of several hundred gathered at the ACBA campus to hear the stars of This Old
guiding light to the future of
House – Richard Trethewey, Kevin O’Connor and Tom Silva, at right, along with President
education; a curriculum for the future
Broadwater, contractor Mark Regalbutto, ACBA’s Dr. Ted Landsmark, and homeowner Scott
Edwards, at left – discuss their Charleston renovation projects in Season 39 of the show.
that addresses the urgent need for
artisans, allows many to do the
An unexpected, but much appreciated benefit of working with manual work they love, and ends the
This Old House was a campus visit by show sponsor Wolverine “no college” stigma. … There’s a
Boots, which donated a pair of their top-quality work boots to way forward for society and the
all ACBA students, faculty, staff and alumni who came to be individual in this tiny, private
fitted. Company representatives were so impressed with the College that they venture in Charleston. Eureka!”
hosted a group of ACBA students at their national conference and Wolverine – Llewyellan King, nationally syn-
President Todd Yates served as the 2018 Commencement speaker. dicated columnist, February 2018
 FY 2017-2018 Donor Honor Roll

The following list includes donors
who have made a gift at or above
$1,000 between August 1, 2017, and
July 31, 2018. Every effort has been
made to ensure accuracy. If we have
inadvertently made an error, we are
extremely sorry. Please kindly let us
know and accept our sincerest
apologies.
$25,000 - $50,000 Mr. and Mrs. Tom Bliss
Camp Younts Foundation
Charleston County Open Grants
M. Jean Fisher Donor Advised
Funds, Carl Richard Westphal, Drs. Kenneth and Helen Dodds
Trustee
Linda Dodge
Golden Pearl Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. John Downing
Elizabeth Hazard, Building
Mr. and Mrs. Hank Greer
Charities LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Morgan Herterich
The Kennedy-Herterich
Foundation Betty Joan and Russell Hitt

$100,000 + Dr. A. Bert Pruitt Elizabeth Lewine

Paul Alongi Charitable Lead Quan Yin Foundation,
Annuity Trust Richard and Julia Moe Family
Ladine L. Manigault, Trustee Fund/NTHP
Betty and Brady Anderson, The Mr. and Mrs. Paul E. Raether
Encouragement Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Carl Raether
Trust Mr. and Mrs. Scott A. Williams John Shannon and Curtis Estes
Madison Capital Group ❖❖❖
The Steven M. and Joyce E.
$10,000 - $24,999 Tadler Charitable Trust
❖❖❖
Mr. and Mrs. Tyler Bickerstaff
Stephen and Julie Ziff

Thanks to the generosity of ACBA’s donors, the College awarded more than $250,000 in
scholarship assistance to students registering for classes in Fall 2018. Nearly 85
percent of ACBA’s students need financial assistance to realize their educational and
career goals. To learn more about how you can support or endow a scholarship,
contact Leigh Handal, Director of Institutional Advancement, handall@buildingarts
college.us or 843-266-7845.

$5,000 - $9,999
Employees Community Fund of Boeing
South Carolina
Mr. and Mrs. Stephan L. Christiansen
Tressie Cottom
Mr. and Mrs. Robert V. DeMarco
Joseph C. & Esther Foster Foundation
The. Hon. Harry B. Limehouse III
Mr. and Mrs. Gerald C. Marterer
Mary Ann Warwick
David Rothberg and Nan Birdwhistell
The Joanna Foundation
Shell Oil Company Matching Fund
The Post and Courier Foundation
JEBSCO Industries, Inc.
Judy Wahl
❖❖❖
$1,000 - $4,999
Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Almeida
Anonymous
Ann Baldwin
Mr. and Mrs. John Barnes
Susan Bass and Thomas Bradford
Katrina Becker, Barker Welfare
Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bickerstaff
Saul Alexander Foundation, a Coastal
Community Foundation Fund
First Reliance Bank
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) and Mrs. Colby M.
Broadwater III
Thomas Carpenter
Walter Carr, Carr Properties
Circular Congregational Church
Brooke Coleman
5
As a part of ACBA’s ongoing study abroad program, Professor William Bates, eight
students and Trustee Francine Christiansen traveled to Italy this summer, visiting
Vicenza and Venice in the Veneto region. They visited 12 villas designed by Palladio, as
well as buildings associated with Pallazzi, Villae and liturgical structures. Students
studied history, form and building materials through daily exercises, and practiced
sketching techniques. Special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Richard Almeida and the Villa
Fabris for their help in arranging special events. If you are interested in participating in
future travel programs, contact Professor Bates at bates@buildingartscollege.us.
Mr. and Mrs. Chris Colen Gregory Blake Sams Events LLC
Arnold Collins, Palmetto Guild of Colonial Artisans &
Community Action Partnership Tradesmen, 1607-1783
Mr. and Mrs. William P. Mr. and Mrs. George Hambleton
Copenhaver
Heyward Hamilton and Holly
The Rev. and Mrs. Cress Darwin Roberson
Mr. and Mrs. David DeDonato The Harry Webster Walker II
Charitable Trust
English-Speaking Union,
Charleston Branch Chris and Leigh Handal
The Lowcountry Chapter of Phi Mr. and Mrs. William Hecht
Beta Kappa
Nancy Heiss
David Drysdale
Mr. and Mrs. H. David Herndon
Earl Family Charitable Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Lee Higdon
The Exchange Club of Charleston
Mr. and Mrs. John Hill
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Fiederowicz
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Huss, Huss
Ann Finn
Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Phil Fortune
Mr. and Mrs. Eli Hyman
Florence Fowlkes
Mr. and Mrs. David Kane
FY 2017-2018 Annual Donor Report

Mr. and Mrs. Carson Knizevski
Mr. and Mrs. Karl Kuester
John LaVerne, Bulldog Tours, LLC
First Bankers Trust Services for
David T. Orthwein Trust
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Payne, Piney
Land Company
Judy Selby
Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Simons
Mr. and Mrs. William W. Struthers

Anne R. Lee Post and Courier LLC Society of the First Families of South
Carolina
Margaret Malaspina Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr.
Scholarship Fund for ACBA, a Mr. and Mrs. Charles Sullivan
Patricia B. Manigault Coastal Community Foundation
Mr. James Thompson
Fund
Arnold Marcus and Barbara A.
Campbell Mrs. W. Leigh Thompson
The Linda and Harriet Ripinsky
Scholarship Fund Mr. and Mrs. Robert Turkewitz
Mr. and Mrs. Grey Minshew
Mr. and Mrs. Steven Rockefeller Mr. and Mrs. John Turnbull
Ronda Muir
Marsha Russell, Satinwood Ltd. Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Vineyard
Mr. and Mrs. Lindsay Nevin
Richard Sammons and Anne Mr. and Mrs. James M. Waddell
Col. and Mrs. Dennis O'Brien Fairfax, Fairfax & Sammons
Lyric Ogden Mr. and Mrs. Lon Waggoner
D.L. Scurry Foundation
Washington Light Infantry
Judy Selby
Ann and David Westerlund
Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Simons
Mr. and Mrs. John Winthrop, Winthrop
Charitable Trust

Shane Young

Charles Towne Endowed Scholars

Leadership Donors
$25,000
Elizabeth Hazard, Building Charities

$15,000
Elizabeth Lewine
Above: Through her new nonprofit, Building Charities, Elizabeth Hazard (bottom row, third
from right) donated $235,000 to 35 local charities from the proceeds her company earned by Mr. & Mrs. Gerald Marterer
renovating and selling this house at 182 Tradd Street. Hazard’s $25,000 gift to ACBA was the
$10,000
lead gift in establishing the Charles Towne Endowed Scholars program.
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Bliss
ACBA’s first endowed scholarship, the Charles Towne Endowed Scholars, $5,000
was established this year by a group of local historic property owners. “We Shell Oil Matching Gifts
Mr. and Mrs. Scott Williams
want to ensure that artisans receive the education needed to repair, restore and
preserve the magnificent properties found in Charleston’s Old and Historic $1,000
Mr. and Mrs. John Barnes
District for many years to come,” said Church Street resident Tom Bliss. “Our
Chris and Leigh Handal
goal is to raise $250,000, which will endow a fund that covers tuition for one Mr. and Mrs. Lee Higdon
David and Wendy Kane
student annually into perpetuity.” Naming opportunities for this scholarship
Peggy Malaspina
in the $1,000 - $25,000 range are available by calling 843-266-7834. Patricia B. Manigault
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Payne
FY 2017-2018 Annual Donor Report

Gifts In-Kind
Nina Akin and Vaughan V. Kessler Go-go Greens
Tidewater Building Services/
Antiques of South Windermere Leigh Handal, Charleston
Fountain Timberworks
Artist Supplies & Products Raconteurs
Allen Marx and Ina Brosseau Marx
Atlas Preservation, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm Harlow
Al Micucci
Sharon Austin and Gale Bowman-Harlow
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Mikell
Patrick Autore Kathryn Hauer
Milwaukee Electric Tools
Paul Bailey Lt. Charles Hawkins
Milt Morgan
Ann Baldwin Winthrop Hepburn
Bette Mueller-Roemer
Dr. and Mrs. Gil Baldwin Nancy Herritage
Jonas Mullen
Jeffery Bannon Susan Hollyday
Barbara and Alan Nourie
Dr. Barbara Banus Jill Hooper
O2 Fitness
William H. Bates Erik Hutson
Ronald Olinsky
Mr. and Mrs. Miles Beach Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Jimenez IV
Deborah Owens
Sarah Broadwater Arsenal Designed Joanne Jones Kassis
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Pace Jr.
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) and Mrs. Colby M. Pat Kinard
Palmetto State Armory
Broadwater III Jene Klopp
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Payne
Carolina Timberworks, LLC Dr. Theodore Landsmark, JD and
Pleasant Family Dentistry
Charleston Gold & Diamond Janet Oberto
Raffia
Correll Glass Studio Ralph Leonard
Carola Ramirez-Castello and Arnaud
Miles Crosby Melissa Levesque
Le Rouzic
Susan Dickson The Hon. Harry B. Limehouse III,
Rick Hendrick BMW of Charleston
Frametastic Palmetto Parking
Allen Stoker
Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Geils Makita U.S.A. Inc.
Arthur Ravenel
Germain Dermatology Pierre Manigault
Harriet McDougal Rigney
Witold Rybczynski
Elizabeth Schrecker
Mr. and Mrs. Ray Schrecker
John M. Shannon and Curtis Estes
Sherwin Williams Paint Store
Marshall Simon
Skatell's Manufacturing Jewelers
Gerard Smeltzer
Kate Wylly Stanton
Laura Stock
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel S. Stout
Bruno Sutter
Swanson Tool Co, Inc.
Target at Seaside Farms
Ted's Butcherblock
The Timber Shop
C. O. Thompson III
Timber Artisans, LLC
Timber Framers Guild
Jon Tirpak
Total Wine
Valentinas Pottery
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Waddell
Mr. and Mrs. Lon Waggoner
Simeon Warren, Warren &
Daughters
Students working under the guidance of Dean Emeritus Simeon Warren completed Mary Ann Warwick
and installed the beautiful stained glass tribute window, which has been named in Seth Weine
honor of Trustee Emeritus Dr. A. Bert Pruitt, in the library this year. The pane Jamie Westendorff
motifs, representing the building trades, were created by students in one of the Laura Williams
spring short courses open to the public last May. Other tribute opportunities at Wolverine Boots
Woodhouse Spa
ACBA are available by calling 843-266-7845.
David Zoellner
FY 2017-2018 Annual Donor Report Educating Artisans

Join us for the 2018-2019 Mary Scott Guest Lecture Series

Part of ACBA’s mission is to expose its students and the public to national
thought-leaders in the traditional building arts. In September J. Thomas Savage,
Director of Museum Affairs at Winterthur, kicked off this year’s Mary Scott
Guest Lecture Series which focuses on “The American South’s Decorative Arts
and Material Culture.” We hope you can join us for the remaining lectures
which are free and open to the public though donations of any amount to
ACBA’s General Scholarship fund are appreciated and assure you of reserved
seating to sold-out events.

Oct. 17, Dr. Nicholas Butler on Historic Theater Interiors

Nov. 5, Bill Brockscmidt & Courtney Coleman on Crafting a Decorative Vision
Mar. 13, Angela Caban on Restoring America’s National Historic Treasures
Apr. 3, Tom Reinhart on The Restoration of Mount Vernon

Tom Reinhart, April 3, on leading the study and preservation of Mount

This lecture series sponsored in part by a grant from the Richard and Julia Moe Family Fund, NTHP. All lectures are at 6 p.m. at the Old Trolley Barn,
649 Meeting St. For reserved seating, RSVP to Leigh Handal at handall@buildingartscollege.us. (Image courtesy of Wintherthur Museum.)
Vernon, home of America’s first president, George Washington.

Charleston, South Carolina 29403

649 Meeting Street