Carolyn Campbell appreciates the financial sacrifices her parents made so she could follow her dreams to MICA. She wants to help provide that opportunity for a new generation of artists and designers.

"We need to support the arts and artists in our world now more than ever," she says.

The 1972 MICA graduate is the founder of Campbell Communications, a Los Angeles-based firm specializing in marketing, public affairs, media relations, and event planning for museums, galleries, architectural firms, cultural festivals and film and literary projects.

Her MICA coursework highlighted the importance of communicating ideas and eventually helped shape her career. "Our class presentations were all about making (interior) design concepts a reality," Campbell comments. "Many of my projects involve teams of people, including writers, curators, artists, architects, and philanthropists. Articulating ideas clearly and convincingly is what defines success in my work, whether it's pitching a story to an editor or brainstorming with a client about promoting an exhibition."

Campbell has directed communications, marketing, and special events for organizations on both coasts, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and UCLA's School of the Arts and Architecture and their Broad Art Center's opening.

MICA's campus life provided interdisciplinary opportunities that prepared Campbell to work with creative individuals and cultural leaders. She doubled her gift to MICA this year.  "MICA has always been at the top of my donations list. Its leadership and faculty set a tone through the caliber of teaching, the recruitment of the best students, by providing great studios and the tools to work with, and by offering vital scholarship support."