Ronne Hartfield

Ronne Hartfield
Ronne Hartfield
	Ronne Hartfield
Born	Ronola Rone; 17 March 1936 (age 89); Chicago, Illinois, US
Alma mater	University of Chicago
Spouse	Robert Hartfield
Children	4

Ronne Hartfield (née Rone, born March 17, 1936) is an American author, essayist, and museum consultant. She was the executive director of Urban Gateways: The Center for Arts in Education,^[1] and was the executive director for Museum Education at the Art Institute of Chicago.^[2]

Hartfield served as co-chair of the Harvard University Arts Education Council and Senior Research Associate at both Harvard University's Center for the Study of World Religions and the Claremont Graduate University School of Religion. In 2004, Hartfield published Another Way Home: The Tangled Roots of Race in One Chicago Family^[3]. Hartfield also served on the board of directors at the American Writers Museum, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in Taliesin, Scottsdale, Arizona, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion at the University of Chicago. She is recognized for her contributions to arts education and multicultural education.^[4]

Personal life and education

Ronne Hartfield was born on March 17, 1936, to John Drayton Rone and Thelma Shepherd (née Day).^[5] She attended Wendell Phillips High School. She received a BA in history in 1955 and an MA in theology and literature in 1986 from the University of Chicago.^[6] She was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters by DePaul University in 2006.^[7] She is married to Robert Hartfield, a mathematician.^[8] Together, they have four daughters.^[9]

Early career

From 1974 to 1981, Hartfield served as the dean of students and assistant professor of comparative literature at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.^[10] In 1981, Hartfield became the executive director for Urban Gateways: The Center for Arts in Education, a Chicago-based arts and education non-profit organization.^[11]

In 1991, Hartfield became the Woman's Board Endowed Executive Director of Museum Education at The Art Institute of Chicago.^{[citation needed]} Hartfield was instrumental in forming the Leadership Advisory Committee in 1994^{[citation needed]}, which continues to promote and sustain diversity within The Art Institute of Chicago by providing counsel and support to the museum for the advancement and engagement of African Americans in the life of the institution.^{[citation needed]}

Since 1999, Hartfield has been an independent consultant in museum education and planning.^{[citation needed]}

Author

Hartfield’s memoir, Another Way Home: The Tangled Roots of Race in One Chicago Family (University of Chicago Press, 2004), explores themes of race and identity through the story of her mother, Day Shepherd. The book traces Shepherd’s migration to Chicago and her experiences as a mixed race American, using family recollections and genealogical research to follow their roots from a plantation economy in the South to an urban middle-class environment. The book also addresses significant events in African American history, including the Chicago Race Riot of 1919, the Great Depression, the murder of Emmett Till, and the early Civil Rights Movement. Another Way Home was named one of the ten best non-fiction books of 2004 by the Chicago Tribune and received positive reviews from various critics.

Selected service on boards and committees

American Writers Museum, Chicago, Vice Chair, Board of Directors^{[citation needed]}
Fetzer Institute, Kalamazoo, MI, Convener, Arts Advisory Council^{[citation needed]}
Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Taliesin, Scottsdale, AZ, Board of Directors^{[citation needed]}
Harvard University Graduate Division of Arts Education, Co-Chair Board of Directors^{[citation needed]}
University of Chicago Women's Board, Steering Committee^{[citation needed]}
University of Chicago, Interlocutor, International Enhancing Life Project^[12]
Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion, Martin Marty Center, University of Chicago^{[citation needed]}
Rhode Island School of Design, Honorary Life Trustee^[13]
Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Chicago^{[citation needed]}
The Chicago Network, Vice President^{[citation needed]}
Columbia College Chicago, Board of Directors^{[citation needed]}
International Sculpture Center, New York City^{[citation needed]}
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Illinois Chapter^{[citation needed]}
National Women's Caucus for Art^{[citation needed]}
ArtTable, New York City, Vice President^{[citation needed]}

Selected publications

2019 - Essay in The Horn Book Magazine, v. XCV No. 4, American Library Association
2016 - The Arts Enhance Life in Excelsis: Essay, websites of The University of Chicago Enhancing Life Project and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
2014 - Essay in Conference Publication, the Institute for Signifying Scriptures, Claremont, California
2013 - Manifest Grace: Art, Presence, and Healing: Catalogue Essay in Body and Soul, Museum of Art and Design: New York City
2012 - Visual Echoes and Evocations: Essay in Eranos Yearbook v.70. Daimon Verlag, Einsiedeln, Ticino, Italy.
2010 - Journal of Ordinary Thought, Neighborhood Writing Alliance, Chicago. Introduction.
2010 - Foreword: Catalogue for SAIC/SSCAC exhibition, Recession.
2007 - Architects of Culture. Interview with Tim Gilfoyle in Chicago History, the Magazine of the Chicago History Museum. Summer issue
2006 - Laying Coping Stones in Zion: Art, the Imagination, and the Flourishing of Common Life. Essay in Criterion (University of Chicago Divinity School v.45 No. 1)
2004 - Another Way Home: The Tangled Roots of Race in One Chicago Family. Biographical Memoir (University of Chicago Press)
2004 - Musings on Barbarous Beauty. Fellowship conference proceedings (Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions)
2004 - Seeing and Silence: Sacred Encounter in Museum Exhibition. Essay in Stewards of the Sacred (American Association of Museums)
2004 - The Encyclopedia of Chicago History (University of Chicago Press). Two entries
2001 - Encountering Art/Different Facets of the Esthetic Experience. Miho Museum, Kyoto. Essay (Overlook Press NY)
2001 - A Permanence of Stone and Language in America's Courtyard. Catalog essay: Perez and Milan. (Ripasa, São Paulo)
1998 - The New Jersey State Museum, African American Fine Arts Collection Catalog, Trenton. Five essays
1996 - The Chicago Years: Gathering Light in the Gray City. Essay in Gullah Images: The Art of Jonathan Green (University of South Carolina Press)
1995 - The Artist in Society: Afterword. Essay in New Art Examiner, Summer
1995 - Turning the Museum Inside Out. Essay in The Journal of Arts Education, September
1995 - Birmingham Museum of Art, Fall Catalog. Essay for museum installation by sculptor Lorenzo Pace
1994 - Challenging the Context: Perception, Polity and Power. Essay in Curator: The Museum Journal, v. 37 No. 1
1993 - Teaching Theater. Keynote Speech. The Journal of the American Educational Theater Association, New York
1988 - An Unquiet Revolution. Essay in The Journal of Arts Management, Spring
1985 - Gifts of Power/The Writings of Rebecca Jackson. Book Review in The Journal of Religion, v. 65, No. 2 April

Honors and awards

Urban Gateways Inaugural Jessie Woods Arts Champion Award for Arts Advocacy^{[citation needed]}
2001-2002 Senior Research Fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR), Harvard Divinity School^[14]
Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency Fellowship^{[citation needed]}
DePaul University, Doctorate in Humane Letters^{[citation needed]}
Aspen Institute Residency Fellowships^{[citation needed]}
Robert Maynard Hutchins Award for Distinction in Education (Chicago History Museum)^{[citation needed]}
National Women's Caucus for the Arts, Lifetime Achievement Award^{[citation needed]}
Hull House Women of Valor Award^{[citation needed]}
University of Chicago Alumni Award for Public Service^{[citation needed]}
Goethe-Institut Travel Fellowship to Germany^{[citation needed]}
Brazil Cultural Consortium Travel Fellowship^{[citation needed]}
Mexico/Chicago Fellowship, City of Chicago Leadership Committee^{[citation needed]}
Institute for International Education, Women Leaders Delegation to Japan^{[citation needed]}
YWCA Outstanding Leadership in the Arts Award^{[citation needed]}
Congressman Sidney Yates Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts^{[citation needed]}
Scholarship and Guidance Association Award for Exceptional Community Service^{[citation needed]}
American Women Composers Award^{[citation needed]}
Lawyers For the Creative Arts Award for Exceptional Contributions^{[citation needed]}
International Women Associates, Woman Extraordinaire^{[citation needed]}
Christopher Moore Award, Chicago Children's Choir^{[citation needed]}
Woman of the Year, Chicago Association of Mannequins^{[citation needed]}
Distinguished Service Award, Alpha Gamma Pi Honorary Sorority^{[citation needed]}
Community Leadership Award, Abraham Lincoln Center^{[citation needed]}
Professional Excellence Award, League of Black Women^{[citation needed]}
Kizzy Award for Exceptional Achievement^{[citation needed]}
Named One of Ten Chicagoans to Watch by The Chicago Sun-Times^[15]
Named One of 100 Most Outstanding Chicago Women by Today's Chicago Woman^{[citation needed]}
National Museum of Mexican Art: Sor Juana Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts^{[citation needed]}
African American Arts Alliance of Chicago: Outstanding Achievement in Non-Fiction Literature^{[citation needed]}

References

^ "Enhancing Life Project". enhancinglife.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
^ Ronne Hartfield. (2000). Baker & Taylor Author Biographies, 1.
^ Hartfield, Ronne. Another Way Home: The Tangled Roots of Race in One Chicago Family. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
^ "Company Overview of Rhode Island School of Design". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 1 September 2012.^{[dead link]}
^ Hartfield, Ronne (2004). Another Way Home: The Tangled Roots of Race in One Chicago Family. Chicago, Illinois, USA: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226318219.
^ The History Makers, Ronne Hartfield Biography, July 3, 2002, "[1]", April 3, 2012
^ Office of Public Relations and Communications, 108th Commencement Ceremony to Bring Array of Notables to DePaul University, June 8, 2006, "[2]", April 3, 2012
^ "A Matter of Timing". Chicago Tribune. 1991-05-12. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
^ "Mother's Footsteps". Chicago Tribune. 1988-04-10. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
^ Tribune, Chicago (1991-05-12). "A MATTER OF TIMING". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2025-04-18.
^ "Honorees: Ronne Hartfield". Urban Gateways. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
^ "Enhancing Life Project". enhancinglife.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
^ "RISD President and Leadership | RISD". www.risd.edu. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
^ "Divinity School hosts 21 fellows, visiting scholars". Harvard Gazette. 20 September 2001. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
^ Lori Rotenberk, Chicago Sun Times, January 9, 1994, [3] April 4, 2012

[1] "Enhancing Life Project". enhancinglife.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2025-03-12.

[2] Ronne Hartfield. (2000). Baker & Taylor Author Biographies, 1.

[3] Hartfield, Ronne. Another Way Home: The Tangled Roots of Race in One Chicago Family. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

[4] "Company Overview of Rhode Island School of Design". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 1 September 2012.^{[dead link]}

[5] Hartfield, Ronne (2004). Another Way Home: The Tangled Roots of Race in One Chicago Family. Chicago, Illinois, USA: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226318219.

[6] The History Makers, Ronne Hartfield Biography, July 3, 2002, "[1]", April 3, 2012

[7] Office of Public Relations and Communications, 108th Commencement Ceremony to Bring Array of Notables to DePaul University, June 8, 2006, "[2]", April 3, 2012

[8] "A Matter of Timing". Chicago Tribune. 1991-05-12. Retrieved 2025-02-06.

[9] "Mother's Footsteps". Chicago Tribune. 1988-04-10. Retrieved 2025-02-06.

[10] Tribune, Chicago (1991-05-12). "A MATTER OF TIMING". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2025-04-18.

[11] "Honorees: Ronne Hartfield". Urban Gateways. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2012.

[12] "Enhancing Life Project". enhancinglife.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2025-05-30.

[13] "RISD President and Leadership | RISD". www.risd.edu. Retrieved 2025-05-30.

[14] "Divinity School hosts 21 fellows, visiting scholars". Harvard Gazette. 20 September 2001. Retrieved 26 May 2025.

[15] Lori Rotenberk, Chicago Sun Times, January 9, 1994, [3] April 4, 2012

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