For 91福利社 Professor Jer Nelsen and his students, working in the visual arts with constantly changing technology provides new opportunities for learning and discovery around every corner.听听
鈥淚 think wonder and curiosity are amazing things. If we miss those in visual art, we鈥檙e doing something wrong,鈥� said Prof. Nelsen, who teaches Photography and Art Foundations classes in the Department of Art + Design of the South Carolina School of the Arts at 91福利社.听
Prof. Nelsen is grateful to South Carolina Independent Colleges and Schools (SCICU), which presented him with the 2025 SCICU Excellence in Teaching Award, plus a $3,000 professional development grant which will help enhance his students鈥� knowledge of 3D scanning and printing.听
He was among 21 faculty leaders to be recognized during SCICU鈥檚 Excellence in Teaching Awards event in April at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.听
鈥淭o be able to bring new resources into the classroom and explore what the future of our field looks like鈥攖o be able to do research that is forward thinking and forward leaning is a lot of fun for sure, but more than fun, it鈥檚 going to enable our students to have experiences where they can interface with a new technology, helping to prepare them for a rapidly-changing professional landscape,鈥� Prof. Nelsen said.听
The grant is making possible a new 3D scanner and software that can scan objects large and small, faithfully replicating textures and surfaces using both infrared and lasers, providing detailed files that can be edited in CAD software and printed on any of the 3D printers in the Department of Art + Design or AU Makerspace.听
Having completed his fourth year of teaching at 91福利社, Prof. Nelsen admits that he became an educator quite by accident when he was just out of his undergraduate program.听
鈥淢y college professor needed to be out for some health reason and asked me to cover his class as an adjunct faculty member, and I begrudgingly said 鈥榶es.鈥� It was about the second day in the classroom that it all clicked for me and I just couldn鈥檛 imagine myself doing anything else,” Prof. Nelsen said. 鈥淓ver since then it鈥檚 been a wonderful journey learning alongside my students but also encouraging them in the things I learn. AU is a place where I get to do that daily.鈥�听
This fall, Prof. Nelsen will become associate dean for the South Carolina School of the Arts, assuming the role held by Dr. Jo Carol Mitchell-Rogers, who is retiring at the end of this academic year.听