CATHY + STEPHEN GRAHAM

risd connection: Cathy (Barancik) Graham earned a BFA in Painting in 1976

professional status: After graduating from RISD, Cathy studied fashion illustration at Parsons and subsequently worked as an illustrator in New York City for many years. “I still draw all the time, but I am also busy with my two kids,” she says. Stephen is currently pursuing a PhD in literature at Columbia University and teaching at The New School. He is owner of Stephen Graham Productions, a theatrical production company in New York, and founder and trustee of the highly respected New York Theatre Workshop. Stephen is also the youngest son of the late Katherine Graham, former chairman and chief executive of The Washington Post Company and former publisher of The Washington Post.

type of gift: The Grahams have pledged $1.25 million to name a portion of the new Fleet Library at RISD, which will be located in the historic bank building at 15 Westminster Street, just across the river from The Chace Center. The section of the library that will be known as the Cathy + Stephen Graham Center for Visual Resources is made up of a picture collection, a slide collection and digital imaging technology, says Library Director Carol Terry. “This has always been a very important part of the library. The new Graham Center will integrate the oldest pictures in our collection — many from the 19th century — with state-of-the-art technology,” Terry says.

rationale: The creation of a new library in the grand banking hall of the early 20th-century building is “an incredibly wonderful project and we wanted to be a part of it,” says Cathy. “I know the old Hospital Trust building well from my student days, when I used to do my banking there, and I have always thought it was an extraordinary space.”

why risd? Cathy says she loved RISD as a student: “Richard Merkin MFA ’64 PT was my favorite professor,” she recalls. But she’s equally enthusiastic about what’s going on at RISD today. “Roger Mandle is such a great president. There are so many exciting additions; I’m so impressed with how much RISD has advanced under him.” Besides their important gift to the library, the Grahams also generously continue to support the College Annual Fund, helping to offset cyclical operating needs at RISD.