By Leslie James
Art Professor Harley Acres is in his sixth year at PPCC, where he teaches Art Appreciation (both in class and online) and all three Art History classes offered: Pre-Historic to Medieval (Art 111), Renaissance to 1800s (Art 112), and Modern (Art 207). His classes are primarily located at Downtown Studio campus.
Acres moved to Colorado Springs from Perkinston, a quaint berg in Mississippi, where his twin brother and both parents teach at the local community college. Acres refers to teaching as the “family business,” and he is passionate about it, especially when it comes to helping students unearth ancient art.
“When a student comes in and says they’re able to connect something I said with something from one of their other courses, that really makes my day,” Acres said.
Acres connects with foreign exchange students at PPCC. While in college at the University of Alabama, where he minored in Japanese and majored in Printmaking, Acres joined the Study Abroad program to Japan, which allowed him to attend Kansai Gaidai University in Hirakata City for his senior year.
Acres says that experience helped him empathize with students at PPCC who may be struggling to adapt in America, especially when the students speak English as their second language.
“Living in a world where you struggle to communicate is a little scary,” he said.
Acres tries to help students as they navigate different customs and language as he did as a student in Japan.
Acres is a huge proponent of PPCC’s Global Studies efforts. He knows first hand that studying in a foreign country is a great opportunity to learn about one’s subject of interest, but also to learn about America from an outside perspective.
For more information on PPCC Art History classes email Acres at harley.acres@ppcc.edu
For information on PPCC’s Global Studies Programs email robin.schofield@ppcc.edu
