College of Fine Arts and Communication 2023 Report

Kaitlin Hopkins was an award-winning actress, director, producer, and educator. In 2009, she created the BFA musical theatre program at TXST. Hopkins created and is CEO of Fontus Dry Mouth Lozenges, co-founded Living Mental Wellness, an evidence-based company that offers educational programs to enhance mental wellness, and works as an arts consultant worldwide. She received awards for teaching from TXST. Broadway Dreams Foundation named her an innovative voice in education and one of the Top 6 women educators in the performing arts. She received a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Educator of the Year. She is proud in her tenure at TXST to have raised over $4.2 million in scholarship funds. ka i t l i n hop k i n s 14 y e a r s o f s e rv i c e Gaila Raymer was the Operations Manager for Evans Auditorium. During this time she oversaw two capital improvement projects for the facility. She managed the School of Music performances as well as campus-wide events, including University Arts, lectures, dance concerts, student activities events, academic competitions, awards and graduation ceremonies. Gaila earned her BFA in Technical Theatrical Design from Texas State University, as well as attended graduate school at The University of Texas and Carnegie Mellon. Previously, Gaila worked for Carnival Cruise Lines for four years as a Lighting and Sound Technician. Gaila was rescued by her adopted pup, Archie, and together they will be exploring all that Georgetown has to offer. ga i l a rayme r 1 5 y e a r s o f s e rv i c e Michael Niblett served as the director of the School of Art and Design for 12 years. Before coming to Texas State, he was chair of the Graphic Design Department at Watkins College of Art and Design in Nashville. Prior to that, he was an associate professor at Texas Christian University where he was awarded the TCU College of Fine Arts’ Distinguished Teaching Award. Michael’s design work has been published in coveted design annuals including Graphis Magazine’s Design Annual, PRINT Magazine’s Regional Design Annual, HOW Magazine’s Design Annual, Art Direction Magazine’s Creativity Annual, and the American Corporate Identity Design Annual. He has also won numerous local and regional ADDY Awards and a Gold ADDY at the national level. m i cha e l n i b l e t t 1 3 y e a r s o f s e rv i c e Ginger Blanchard began working at Texas State in 2013 joining the School of Art and Design as Administrative Assistant III. She provided administrative support to the Director of the School and to all the faculty and graduate assistants. A native Texan, Ginger worked and lived many places around the country including a stint at the University of Utah for the Department of Graduate Medical Education where she oversaw the resident or postgraduate program. Before this Ginger lived in Mississippi working for the Young Lawyers Association for the Mississippi Bar. In retirement Ginger plans to spend time with her grandchildren, her three dogs, with plans for some travel and to pursue volunteer opportunities in her community of Wimberley. 25 College of Fine Arts and Communication v i rg i n i a " g i ng e r " b l ancha rd 10 y e a r s o f s e rv i c e