Audra McDonald, Fred Wilson & More to Receive Nelson A. Rockefeller Award for Creativity

A Tony Award and Grammy-winning singer and actress, a renowned classical dancer and educator, a ground-breaking conceptual artist, and an influential patron of the arts have been selected to receive the 2015 Nelson A. Rockefeller Awards for Creativity. Presented by Purchase College, State University of New York, the awards recognize lifetime achievements and longstanding commitments to the cultivation of arts awareness and education - values that are closely aligned to the Purchase College mission.

Audra McDonald, Fred Wilson, Jacques d'Amboise and Lawrence Benenson will be recognized by Purchase College President Thomas J. Schwarz at a ceremony on Monday evening, March 30, 2015 at The New York Historical Society. Broadway and television veteran Steven Weber, actor and Purchase alumnus, will host the event.

The Award for Creativity is named for Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, 41st Vice President of the United States, 49th Governor of New York State, businessman, philanthropist, ardent champion of the environment, and visionary patron of the arts. Nearly five decades ago Mr. Rockefeller drove the establishment of Purchase College as a new campus in the State University of New York educational system that would embrace, nurture and cultivate students in music, dance, theater, film, and the visual arts with the same passion and commitment as its liberal arts and sciences programs. Today, the College is one of the nation's preeminent educational institutions for the performing and visual arts and the liberal arts and sciences. Its alumni, students and faculty are leading artists, art patrons, environmentalists and scholars in New York City and globally.

"Purchase College was founded on the premise that art and creativity are positive forces that help to shape our culture and improve our environment," said President Schwarz. "We are extraordinarily proud of the contributions and influence that our alumni, students, faculty and friends have in the global community - not only in New York City, but across the country and around the world. The Nelson A. Rockefeller Award for Creativity is an important way to recognize the work of artists and the patrons that help to support them."

Eighteen (18) individuals have received the Rockefeller Award for Creativity since it was first presented in 2007. Nominations are invited from College alumni, faculty, Board members and friends. Consideration is given to achievements that align with Purchase College's mission to educate the artists and creative thinkers of tomorrow. Honorees are selected by President Schwarz and an Awards Committee.

For complete biographies and more information about the Nelson A. Rockefeller Award for Creativity, the 2015 honorees and past recipients, please visit www.purchase.edu/Rockefeller.