Charles Caldemeyer

Charles Caldemeyer, professor of art, joined the Ashland University faculty 1990. He received a B.A. in painting from the University of South Florida in 1986 and an M.F.A. from Washington University in St. Louis in 1990. His teaching assignments include all levels of painting, as well as color theory and drawing.

Caldemeyer's studio work has evolved in two major directions since graduate school. The Grids series are large oil-on-canvas abstractions with an emphasis on pattern and color. Structures is an illustrational body of work that features a wide variety of media (including encaustic, watercolor, oil, and various printmaking techniques) using architectural spaces as metaphors. His work has been exhibited widely in juried national solo and group exhibitions and has won numerous awards.

Caldemeyer is responsible for several major program improvements at Ashland. He developed the Art Department’s Computer Art coursework in 1991 and the Computer Art and Graphics Programming major (designed to train technologically-literate artists) in concert with the Mathematics/Computer Science Department in 1996. In 1992 he developed the Foundations Review/Senior Exhibition processes and in 2002 he wrote the revised department assessment plan, including more rigorous reviews at the Junior and Senior levels. As chair of the Art Department from 2003-2006, he was primary author and advocate for the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, implemented in 2005. He is a four-term Faculty Senator from the College of Arts and Sciences, and he has served on numerous committees, including seven years on the Budget Committee, two Academic Review committees, the College of Arts and Sciences Tenure and Promotion Committee, and the Core Advisory Council.