Wayne State University

university art department · Active

last checked 2026-05-29

As archived

Program began
1953

Degrees
B.F.A, M.A

Now (checked 2026)

Status
Active

What happened
The metals program — founded 1953 when the university hired Phillip Fike to succeed silversmith Arthur Nevill Kirk — continues uninterrupted. Fike taught 45 years and died Dec. 8, 1997. Since ~2014 the program has continued under new leadership; it is currently coordinated by Associate Professor Evan Larson-Voltz, remains housed in the James Pearson Duffy Department of Art, Art History, and Design, and continues to mount its recurring "Metals" exhibitions (e.g., Metals 2022). No closure, merger, or rename of the metals program; the only structural context is the department's full name (James Pearson Duffy Department of Art, Art History, and Design).

Link
cfpca.wayne.edu/art/fine-arts/metalsmithing

People

Faculty

Phillip Fike · 1953 to 1997

Trained here

Adam GrinovichAlan T. MetteEarl KrentzinStanley LechtzinVickie Sedman

Sources

https://cfpca.wayne.edu/art/fine-arts/metalsmithing https://cfpca.wayne.edu/art/programs/undergraduate/bfa-art https://bulletins.wayne.edu/courses/ame/https://reutherlib.blubrry.net/2019/04/25/from-the-vault-metalsmith-and-professor-phillip-fike-and-the-wayne-state-academic-mace/https://www.waynestategalleries.org/metals-2022

From the original Tyler “Academic Metals Directory” (≈2014), brought current in 2026.

A program in the Academic Metals Directory. People shown are linked where they have an entry. See it on the map →