The Teiger Mentor in the Arts program brings internationally acclaimed artists to Cornell on an ongoing basis to teach a graduate seminar class and conduct individual critiques with M.F.A. students. The program aspires to give students opportunities to make connections with and learn from a diverse range of leading professional artists. In addition to the teaching commitment, the program includes a public artist lecture.
The Teiger Mentor in the Arts program was created in 2012 with a gift from the late David Teiger (’51), a graduate of the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration and a champion of visionary perspectives in the arts and innovative curatorial practices. It continues today through the generous support of Teiger Foundation.
Spring 2026 Teiger Mentor in the Arts
Mary Mattingly
Internationally acclaimed artist Mary Mattingly’s interdisciplinary work spans from large-scale public sculpture to collage-based photography, imagining adaptive futures shaped by ecological interdependence. She is known for her sculptural ecosystems that inhabit civic spaces—from floating food forests to tidal water clocks — bringing attention to different conditions surrounding water, food, and shelter. In parallel, her photographic collages offer intimate, symbolic reflections that transform documentation into speculative diagrams and visual poems.
Past Teiger Mentors
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![Headshot of Erika Ranee]()
Erika Ranee
Fall 2025
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![Headshot of Tamar Ettun]()
Tamar Ettun
Spring 2025
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![Headshot of Pamela Sneed]()
Pamela Sneed
Fall 2024
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![Headshot of Catherine Haggarty]()
Catherine Haggarty
Spring 2024
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![Headshot of EJ Hauser]()
EJ Hauser
Fall 2023
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![Headshot of Wells Chandler]()
Wells Chandler
Spring 2023
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![Headshot of Emilio Rojas]()
Emilio Rojas
Fall 2022
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![Headshot of Emily Jacir]()
Emily Jacir
Spring 2022
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![Headshot of Miatta Kawinzi]()
Miatta Kawinzi
Fall 2021
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![Headshot of Candice Lin]()
Candice Lin
Spring 2021
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![Headshot of Jessi Reaves]()
Jessi Reaves
Fall 2020
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![Headshot of Josh Tonsfeldt]()
Josh Tonsfeldt
Spring 2020
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![Headshot of Wendy White]()
Wendy White
Fall 2019
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![Headshot of Chitra Ganesh]()
Chitra Ganesh
Spring 2019
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![Headshot of Paul Pfeiffer]()
Paul Pfeiffer
Fall 2018
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![Headshot of Sam Lewitt]()
Sam Lewitt
Spring 2018
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![Headshot of Dana Hoey]()
Dana Hoey
Fall 2017
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![Headshot of Sean Landers]()
Sean Landers
Spring 2017
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![Headshot of Craig Kalpakjian]()
Craig Kalpakjian
Fall 2016
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![Headshot of Sam Durant]()
Sam Durant
Spring 2016
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![Headshot of Sharon Hayes]()
Sharon Hayes
Fall 2015
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![Headshot of Leslie Hewitt]()
Leslie Hewitt
Spring 2015
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![Headshot of Alejandro Cesarco]()
Alejandro Cesarco
Fall 2014
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![Headshot of Shannon Ebner]()
Shannon Ebner
Spring 2014
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![Headshot of Josiah McElheny]()
Josiah McElheny
Fall 2013
