Proclamations honor UD and Paul Jones

4:31 p.m., Nov. 12, 2004--A series of proclamations have been issued honoring the University of Delaware and benefactor Paul R. Jones on the occasion of events Nov. 11-13 marking the opening of the first major exhibition drawn from the Paul R. Jones Collection of 20th Century African American art.

The exhibition, titled The Paul R. Jones Collection: A Century of African American Art, is on view through June 2005, in newly renovated Mechanical Hall, the home of the collection, and in adjacent Old College, site of the University Gallery.

Proclamations were issued by the state of Delaware through Gov. Ruth Ann Minner and Lt. Gov. John C. Carney Jr., the Delaware Senate and House of Representatives and the City of Newark.

In issuing their tribute, Minner and Carney extended congratulations and noted that the collection will be used “to enrich and broaden academic endeavors on campus and nationally.”

They wrote, “Your generous contribution enhances cultural diversity in the fine arts and will surely have a tremendous impact on artists, scholars and students here in the First State and beyond for many years to come.”

The State Senate joined Sens. Steven H. Amick (R-10th District), Liane M. Sorenson (R-6th District) and Margaret Rose Henry (D-2nd District) in issuing a tribute to commemorate the landmark exhibition.

“Through the generosity and foresight of Mr. Jones,” the tribute states, “the University of Delaware is privileged to be the site of one of the oldest, largest and most comprehensive collections of works by 20th Century African American artists in the world.”

It cited Jones’s “pioneering efforts” in the collection of works by artists of color, and stated that “the First State can be proud of the location of this remarkable collection and the enrichment and pleasure it will bring to so many in the years ahead.”

In a tribute on behalf of the State House of Representatives that was sponsored by Rep. Stephanie A. Ulbrich (R- 25th District) and signed by Speaker of the House Terry R. Spence (R-18th District), the legislators extended their “best wishes” to UD on the opening of the exhibition.

Newark Mayor Vance Funk issued a proclamation designating Nov. 11-13 as Paul Jones Day in the city.

The city proclamation honors Jones as a “nationally recognized collector of fine art and a philanthropist of vision,” and adds that UD is a “distinguished partner” that has renovated a key building in Mechanical Hall as a home for the collection and is digitizing works in the collection to share with a wider audience, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

It noted that Jones “is a man whose face is known to every Newark resident and visitor to our town who has waited at the red light at the intersection of South College Avenue and Main Street, where his image has graced signage on the lawn of Old College for several years.”

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