SCHOLARSHIP SPOTLIGHT
Frances Eugenia Comer Scholarship
Frances Eugenia Comer was a beloved
member of the faculty in the Department of
Art from 1971 until her sudden death in 2004.
Originally from Arkansas, Comer trained at
Centenary College, Louisiana State University,
and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
At Augusta College, Comer taught
printmaking, drawing, and painting. Her
students included Edward Rice, Margaret
McCarthy Hunt, and Kath Girdler Engler. She
also coordinated art education for many years,
working with prospective teachers and with art
in the public schools.
As a teacher, Comer was known for her ability
to give students critiques and feedback without
hurt feelings. One of her colleagues called her a
“gentle deliverer of bad news.”
As an artist, Comer expressed her quirky sense
of humor in collages, assemblages, and paintings
full of color and contrasting patterns. Professor
Janice Whiting called her work “controlled
chaos on the canvas.”
As a person, Comer was known for a
sparkling personality and a fashion sensibility
that matched her love of color, texture, and
design. Always elegantly dressed, she mixed
patterns and colors in daring ways. Famously,
she loved stacked bracelets.
“Genie” Comer also loved travel, and
brought back art and ideas from India, Mexico,
France, Egypt, and other places around the
world.
For a retirement celebration, the Art faculty
gave her an elegant tea party. Reflecting Comer’s
fashion aesthetic at every turn, the guests wore
garden-party brimmed hats, each place setting
was china of a different pattern, and everyone
received replica bracelets.
To honor Genie Comer, the Art faculty
established a scholarship in her name.
Awarded to the most outstanding student in
Art and selected by the full-time faculty, the
Comer Award for this year went to Edgar
Miles, a senior double-majoring in Art and
Communication.
Calling it “one of the true highlights of my
college career,” Edgar says he is “so grateful
that my hard work has been recognized in this
way, and that recognition would not be possible
without the funding that established and
maintains” the Comer scholarship.
“I have been honing my photography craft for
several years both in classes and in my non-
academic life, and the development of new skills
Student Edgar Miles, a senior double-majoring in Art and Communication, was this year’s recipient of the
Frances Eugenia Comer Scholarship. (Photo by Gabi Moore)
in all of the various art media is something I
strive toward,” Miles wrote. “But I think the
real reason I have received the award named for
Professor Comer is that I try to show up each
day ready to focus on the task at hand, willing to
assist my classmates when they need help, and
able to work through, expand upon, and further
develop my artmaking practice. From the stories
I’ve heard from faculty members, I’ve gathered
that those were qualities that ‘Genie’ Comer
possessed. I am not necessarily the best artist
in the group. But I put real effort into being a
good student. I want to wring as much from
this experience as I possibly can, and
the confidence that comes with this
acknowledgment of my hard work helps me
continue to strive toward excellence.”
Pamplin College would like to be able to award
multiple scholarships to deserving art students like
Edgar. If you would like to contribute to the Frances
Eugenia Comer Scholarship fund, you can do so
through the AU Foundation (fund #391270)
www.augusta.edu/pamplin | 25