The Missouri Community College Association (MCCA) held its annual conference in Branson on Thursday, Nov. 14, where Doug Freed received the Award of Distinction from his nomination by State Fair Community College. The award is presented to individuals who have demonstrated sustained service and commitment to their local community college. It is one of the highest honors MCCA bestows.
“As a talented artist, as a charter art faculty member, and as the founding director of the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Douglas Freed has had a tremendous impact not only on State Fair Community College, our students and the communities we serve, but also on the State of Missouri,” said College President Brent Bates. “He is an impactful artist and teacher and we are so proud that he was honored by the Missouri Community College Association with the Award of Distinction.”
Freed’s 40-year tenure at SFCC began Aug. 1, 1968, as the one-man art department in the original structure of the college, affectionately nicknamed Plywood U. He served as chairman of the art department for the many years watched his program reach one pinnacle after another — the opening of the Goddard Gallery in 1995, followed by the opening of the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art in 2002. Freed served as the Director of the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art at State Fair Community College until his retirement in February 2008.
Freed was the principal advisor to Dr. Harold Daum, a local radiologist, in assembling his collection of contemporary art. Freed helped build the Daum Museum collection from 200 objects to over 800 since its opening. He served as curator for over 50 exhibitions, several of which toured other museums. Freed has stayed active in his community and has served on several boards, including two terms as president of the Sedalia Arts Council of which he was a founding member.
An established prolific artist himself, Freed’s works have been featured in New York City, Boston, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Charleston, St. Louis and Kansas City. He has had over sixty solo exhibitions. His work is in the Missouri museum collections of the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art in Sedalia, St. Louis Art Museum, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Mildred Kemper Museum of Art in Saint Louis, Springfield Museum of Art and the Museum of Art and Archeology at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
