Michael Shane Neal named Young Alumnus of the Year
Chris Pepple |
Lipscomb University’s National Alumni Association named Michael Shane Neal (’91) as the 2008-09 Young Alumnus of the Year at a lunch held in his honor. Neal will also be honored during Alumni Weekend to be held February 12-14. The Young Alumnus of the Year Award, new to Lipscomb this year, is designed to recognize established and future leaders among Lipscomb’s young alumni. Standards for recognition include one or more of the following: demonstrated leadership capability, substantial indication of a commitment to the service of others, demonstration of potential for leadership/distinction in the long term, and substantial commitment to Lipscomb University and its mission.
“Shane Neal truly is a man of God and he exemplifies the Christian business leader that we hold up to our students. His humble spirit is evident in all he does and is refreshing to all of those around him. We are so proud to claim him as one of our alums,” said Mark Meador, senior director of alumni and parent relations. Neal represented all alumni as he spoke to the December graduates.
"I am so honored and humbled to be named Lipscomb's first Young Alumnus of the Year. The school means so much to me. I cannot imagine how different my life and career would be without my time at the university. In so many ways it was my beginning and is a large part of who I am today. As in life, Lipscomb is really about relationships. It is these relationships that developed with both faculty and students that have endured, made the difference in my choices along the way and made my life as an artist possible. I will forever grateful for the Christian education I received and the influence and impact my time at Lipscomb has had on me," said Neal.
In 1990, Neal successfully launched his career as a portrait artist. In 2001, winning the Portrait Society of America’s International Portrait Competition catapulted his career into the national spotlight. The art curator for the United States Senate was among those who took note of his win. After being asked to submit a portfolio to the curator, Neal received word that he would be commissioned to paint Senator Arthur Vandenberg for the United States Capitol. This commission placed Neal among the youngest artists ever commissioned by the United States Senate. The Vandenberg portrait hangs in the Senate Reception Room with only six other portraits. “It’s an honor to think of my work as being permanently installed in a place with such a rich history,” Neal comments.
Neal has since completed numerous still life paintings and over 400 portraits including U.S. Senators, corporate and civic leaders, college presidents and family portraits commissioned by people across the nation and now this portrait of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to hang in Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. Neal is currently painting former Lipscomb President Steve Flatt, Senator Bill Frist for the U.S. Capitol, former Chancellor of Vanderbilt Gordon Gee, Warren Staley, Cargill Incorporated, and Del Sawyer, Dean Emeritus, The Blair School of Music. This month, Neal received the commission to paint Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne.
On September 12, Neal presented a portrait of retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to the law school that bears her name during a ceremony attended by local dignitaries, faculty, students and staff. The portrait, which was commissioned by four of Justice O'Connor's former law clerks and painted over the course of two years by Neal, was unveiled at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. It depicts the smiling, silver-haired justice in a red suit, seated in a chair across which her black justice robe is draped.
In November, hundreds joined Senator Arlen Specter at the National Constitution Center for the unveiling of the Senator's official portrait painted by Neal. The portrait was commissioned by Yale Law School and will hang in the alumni reading room. The portrait shows an introspective Arlen Specter, glasses in hand, and arms folded. His son, Shanin Specter, paid a compliment to Neal: "I was struck at how well you captured in my father those qualities of grit, determination and intensity that we know so well. If I may summarize those qualities in my father, it would be, in one word, 'will'."