October 18, 2023 – Santa Fe College President Paul Broadie II, Ph.D. released the following statement to the college community following the passing of retired SF faculty member Norman Jensen.
Dear Santa Fe Family,
Our college family has lost an incredibly impactful retired faculty member. Artist and educator Professor Emeritus Norman Jensen passed away last Friday.
Norman started his journey with Santa Fe College in 1968, and our institution remained close to his heart well beyond his retirement in 1993. While at the college, he taught art and humanities courses to countless students, many of whom are very active in the art world in our community. He helped found our Visual Arts department, and much of the success our Fine Arts department has today was built on the foundation laid by pioneers like Norman.
He was a great supporter of the Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival, displaying his work nearly every year. Twice – in 1992 and in 2009 – his work was selected to represent the festival as the official artist of the Spring Arts Festival poster. A decade after his retirement, he established the Norman Kenneth Jensen scholarship to help Santa Fe students in the visual arts hone their skills while achieving the dream of a college education.
In February, his work was featured in our Santa Fe College Gallery for the exhibit 60 Years – The Works of Norman Jensen and the following month, this past spring Norman was part of a reception in the President’s Gallery featuring the work of retired SF faculty. Those pieces are still on display.
Our thoughts and prayers go to his family and friends. Our institution will forever be richer because of him.
Take care,
Paul
