PITTSBURGH GLASS CENTER RECEIVES A MAJOR GIFT TO ENDOW DIRECTORSHIP

Pittsburgh Glass Center (PGC) received a major gift to establish its first endowed directorship, the Randi & L. Van V. Dauler, Jr. Executive Director chair. Randi Dauler and her late husband, Van, began supporting PGC in early 2001, before the facility opened. This gift represents their continuing and steadfast commitment to the Pittsburgh arts community and to Pittsburgh Glass Center in particular.

Current Executive Director Heather McElwee will assume the position of Randi & L. Van V. Dauler, Jr. Executive Director. McElwee has worked at PGC since 2001, holding various positions from Administrative Assistant to Curator to Executive Director as well as overseeing educational programming, exhibitions, fundraising and strategic direction for the organization. She moved to Pittsburgh from Kansas to be a part of Pittsburgh's emerging glass community. She taught the first glassblowing classes at PGC. Randi Dauler was one of her students.

“I have seen firsthand the vibrant impact that Pittsburgh Glass Center has made on both our city and the worldwide glass community. PGC is held in high regard by the international community of glass artists and curators, motivating many to teach and exhibit here or even to move here to create their own work. During and since my ten years of PGC board service, I have been impressed by the talented staff who work as a team to provide a fulfilling consumer experience. It is my privilege to support PGC's ongoing activities by endowing the Executive Director chair,” said Ms. Dauler.

The Daulers have frequently supported capital projects at PGC. They understand that maintaining a state-of-the-art glass facility requires a consistent capital investment. Since 2001, they have supported many projects both personally and through the family's foundation, the Emma Clyde Hodge Memorial Fund. These include:

Mobile Hot Shop - The Daulers provided 100 percent of the funding needed to expand PGC's presence and take the artistry and education of glassmaking beyond the walls of Pittsburgh Glass Center. Hot Wheels is a compact traveling glass studio with all of the equipment needed to conduct live glassblowing demonstrations in almost any location. To date Hot Wheels has reached over 250,000 individuals in the region.

Replacement Furnaces - Pittsburgh Glass Center has two 1,000-pound-capacity furnaces that run 24 hours a day, seven days a week at a temperature of 2,100˚F to continually provide quality clear molten glass for students and artists. Because glass is such a corrosive material, these furnaces must be replaced every five years. On multiple occasions the Daulers have provided the support needed to replace these key pieces of glassblowing equipment.

Large Reheating Chamber - With the Daulers' support, PGC built the largest glory hole on the East Coast at that time. A glory hole is a reheating chamber essential to glassblowing. Without this significant piece of equipment, PGC never would have been able to host world-renowned artists like Lino Tagliapietra and Dale Chihuly to work in its studios.

Kiln Shop - The Daulers were responsible for the completion of the kiln shop at PGC, bringing together the last piece of the puzzle to finalize the state-of-the-art comprehensive facility. Artists from around the world use the studio to pursue kilnforming activities such as casting and fusing and slumping and to create stained glass and mosaics.

Emma Clyde Hodge Gallery - Over 50 glass exhibitions and hundreds of artists from around the world have been featured in the Emma Clyde Hodge Gallery at PGC. The contemporary glass gallery was only possible with support from Randi and Van Dauler.

"Since before our doors at Pittsburgh Glass Center were open, Randi and Van believed in and wholly supported our mission. Their consistent and enthusiastic support made it possible to grow into an internationally recognized, world-class organization and one of Pittsburgh’s best assets. This gift will free up always needed operating dollars to make sure PGC is sustainable far into the future," said Heather McElwee, the Randi & L. Van V. Dauler Jr. Executive Director.