RIT Byron G. Culver Award clippings

Bryon G. Culver was the first director of the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Printing, serving from 1937 until he retired in 1965. A 1918 graduate from the Institute’s Normal Program within the Applied Science and Art Department, he was treated with suspicion by some members of the printing industry because he was not considered to be a “real” printer. However, he became one of the most respected men in the field of graphic arts. He won many awards and titles, becoming known as “the dean of printing educators."

Culver designed a scroll for the Mechanic Institute’s greeting of Charles Lindbergh with the Times Union as Lindbergh flew across the US in June 1927. It was under Culver’s direction that the Editor and Publisher announced RIT as “one of the world’s outstanding schools of printing.” Also in his time as director, theGraphic Arts Research Center (GARC) was established in 1951 to apply scientific and engineering principles to the printing and publishing industry. Results of research were made available as possible to the industry.” The award named for him was first presented in 1981. It was given to dedicated individuals who had contributed significantly to the printing and graphic arts industry through education.