MCC alumni joined students, faculty, and community members for the dedication of the Dr. Carole Drachler Library of Art History on May 3 in the Art Gallery on MCC’s Southern and Dobson Campus.

Retired MCC art history professor Dr. Carole Drachler and her husband Dr. David Drachler generously donated $250,000 to launch a one-of-a-kind library of art history. The Drachlers’ gift, commemorating their connections to MCC, includes over 3,000 art and art history books collected during years of extensive world travels. The donation also includes a rare collection of historic items from the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

“Art history connects you to the history of the world through pictures and buildings, instead of words in a textbook,” said Dr. Carole Drachler. “Art elevates us. It makes us feel like we’re immortal. It opens up the world.”

Professor Carole Drachler taught art history in Maricopa Community Colleges for nearly 40 years, retiring in Spring 2009 after 34 years at MCC. Her classes were some of the most popular on campus, packing the lecture hall with 70 students in each of the five sections she taught each semester.

As a lecturer for the Arizona Humanities Council, Dr. Carole Drachler has educated thousands of Arizonans in the love and appreciation of art for more than three decades. She has always considered the advancement of the arts in Arizona to be of paramount importance to ensure that future generations may continue to enjoy and benefit from the well-documented pleasures and advantages of an art education.

“The room will be a little treasure, an artistic experience when we’re done,” Dr. Carole Drachler said. “Books have been my passion, after family and teaching. I’m happy that generations of students will use the books I enjoyed.”

If you or someone you know would like to make a gift to MCC or would like to include the College in your estate plan, please contact the Office of Development at:  480.461.7200 or mesacc.edu/give.  Thank you.