Karen Wirth

Donor Profile: Karen Wirth’s Lasting Impact

Karen Wirth’s career has spanned every level of education. “From kindergarten teacher to president,” she says with a smile, reflecting on her winding path. Wirth first joined MCAD as an adjunct faculty member in 1991, teaching in the Foundations program. She left to join the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul for ten years as Chair, and then Vice President. When later she was Fine Arts chair at MCAD, she received Bush Leadership and American Council on Education Fellowships and was mentored at Parson’s School of Design/New School University in New York—“basically college president training,” she recalls. She returned to MCAD as Vice President of Academic Affairs, eventually stepping into the role of Interim President in 2018.

Her rise may look like ambition, but Wirth insists it’s something else. “I get curious and restless if I’m in something too long. And, I’ve been good at recognizing opportunities,” she explains.”It looks directional, but it’s been a wandery thing.”

Of all her roles at MCAD, Wirth found the greatest satisfaction in her years as department chair. With a background in art education, she loved building curriculum. “It’s like a dimensional puzzle,” she says, “one that has to work from level to level and across disciplines.” But the most meaningful moments came later, during her time as Interim President and then back in the VP role. Leading through student protests, Title IX concerns, and the uncertainty of the COVID-19 lockdown demanded every skill she had. “It took everything,” she recalls. “But it added up to something that really mattered.”

Wirth’s dedication to students extends well beyond leadership. “You have to care about young people and everything we are leaving to this next generation. MCAD represents their start,” she states. Early in her career, she decided to establish a named scholarship fund at MCAD, setting aside part of her paycheck until she reached the $25,000 needed to endow it. Over time, the fund grew, and today it stands at nearly $50,000.

Another way Wirth adds to her scholarship fund is through her quilting, which began as a way to relieve job stress. For the past decade, Wirth has donated her art quilts to MCAD’s annual Art Auction with 100% of the proceeds going to scholarships. “If I think about students first, it makes the practice joyful,” she says.

Looking ahead, Wirth believes MCAD’s greatest gift to students is resilience. “It’s not just about being viable in your professional position,” she explains. “As a student, you have the facilities, the mentorship, the space to take risks. After graduation, you need resilience to keep going outside that protected environment.” For young artists, resilience can simply be the act of creating in the face of uncertainty," she says. “MCAD equips students to do that in spades.”

For Wirth, the most rewarding moments at MCAD are the flashes of recognition in students’ eyes—when they “get it” and you know they’ll carry it forward. Many of her former students have gone on to become teachers themselves, continuing the cycle of creativity and mentorship. “For everybody who leaves MCAD, there are hundreds of people who have contributed to who they’ve become,” she reflects. “That’s what you want. You want them all to do better than you and take it further.”