Scott From Scotland: Runner, Art Professor

by Amber Rivard

Art professor Scott Anderson has been at 4C’s for 18 years, but he’s originally from Edinburgh, Scotland. 

He first came to America because of his love of running. 

“I graduated in 1999 from my master's program at Edinburgh College of Art, and I was ready for a change,” he says. “My father was a U.S. citizen, he was an American, so I had dual citizenship since I was 18. I decided to come to Boulder, Colorado because I was an elite marathon runner at the time. I was competing, running marathons all over the world, and I decided that I would come to America and change my routine.”  

When Anderson first came to 4C’s, he was mentored by now-retired philosophy professor Daniel McCullough. Anderson, who visits Scotland every summer, and McCullough, who has close connections there, decided to take students to visit the country. 

 “We spent the first week in Edinburgh; it’s a beautiful city and there was lots to see,” Anderson says. “On the second week, we were able to travel and explore pretty much the whole country. … We visited a number of different towns and castles, just everything a person from this country would want to see in Scotland.”  

He says education is like that in America, but there are some differences. 

“We tend to specialize a little bit earlier in Scotland at university. We don’t really have a general education. It is much more of specialized education …  out of high school people choose to go straight into medicine, or straight into law.” 

By choosing art as his specialty, Anderson is following a family tradition. 

“My whole family are artists really,” he says. “I decided to get my MFA a little bit later. I've always been interested in art, but I never regarded it much as a career. … After my undergraduate study, I kind of came around to wanting to study art more seriously. … It's kind of in the blood, I guess.” 

Colleague Lisa Heller Boragine, chair of the Arts & Communications Department, is among those who hold Anderson in high regard. 

“Scott is a charismatic and quirky individual who I consider to be a good friend, as well as a brilliant colleague,” she says. “He has done some really interesting artwork with string and space, and we’re lucky to have him at the college.” 

Scott Anderson. (Scott Anderson)

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