[All Staff] Remembering CCA Trustee Ron Wornick

Dear CCA Community,

It is with great sadness that I write to share the news of the passing of California College of the Arts Trustee Ron Wornick this weekend. It is difficult to imagine our college community without him.

As a trustee and supporter of the college for almost three decades, Ron’s impact on CCA was transformative and enduring. He was a passionate champion and collector of contemporary craft and a talented woodworker who genuinely loved the college and our students. His generous investments in CCA named the Ronald Wornick Wood Furniture Studios and established endowments for the Wornick Distinguished Visiting Professor in Wood Arts and the Ronald and Anita Wornick Award, a juried prize and exhibition for advanced students in wood arts.

Ron was an active member of the CCA Board of Trustees, where he held numerous leadership roles including vice-chair and assistant secretary of the Board and chair of the Advancement and Development committees. He participated in two presidential searches and provided a key voice on the Finance-Audit, Investment, and Facilities committees. He also played a critical role in the college’s long-term planning process for campus unification.

Ron’s influence spans well beyond the college. He had a long and distinguished career as an entrepreneur and food scientist. Through his remarkable art collection and philanthropy, he became an internationally recognized pillar of the contemporary crafts community. His generosity touched many institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School in Foster City, the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, and UCSF Medical Research.

His memorial service will be held this Monday, August 2, at 1:00 p.m., at Peninsula Temple Sholom, 1655 Sebastian Drive, Burlingame.

I am honored to have worked closely with Ron throughout my years as CCA provost and president and to have called him a friend. He will be deeply missed.

Sincerely,
Stephen Beal