Surrounded by her works of art, friends, colleagues and loved ones of the late Pam Price gathered for a celebration of her life Tuesday in the Nancy Fyfe Cardozier Gallery on the University of Texas Permian Basin campus.
Price, an artist, educator, visionary and advocate, died May 22, 2022, at her home in Odessa. She was 77. Her career was spent at UTPB.
Those who spoke at the celebration described her as a storyteller, avid bridge player, talked about the way she swore in class, knew her own mind, enjoyed life, had tremendous attention to detail and had fun with her art.
She was also described as a brilliant administrator and ferocious supporter of the art department.
Price was born in San Francisco on June 9, 1944, the first of three children while her dad was stationed there after Pearl Harbor. The family later lived in South Carolina, Ohio, and Georgia, information from the celebration said.
Price majored in printmaking, painting and drawing at Georgia State University where she earned her bachelor of arts and a master of fine arts in printmaking from the University of Georgia.
She married Joel Roderick “Rod” Price in Decatur, Ga., July 18, 1970. The couple moved right away to Washington State and stayed there while Rod worked on his law degree, later moving to Lubbock, where he graduated.
The Prices then moved to Odessa where Rod joined a law firm and started his career. By 1974, Pam had taken a position teaching art at UTPB. She would later become the head of the Art Department and Dean of Humanities, the information said.
Her tenacity resulted in the expansion of art at UTPB. She won many awards. Those who spoke also said she was a force in making UTPB a four-year school.
Those left to cherish her memory are her brother Wayne and his wife, Carolyn Finney Champion; her brother Steven’s wife, Deborah Powell Champion; aunt, Patricia Laughter, and uncle Randall Champion; nieces and nephews Megan, David and his wife, Shalene, Mikala and Michael; and great-nieces and great nephews Sara, Kayleigh, Brent, Emy Lue and Marloe.
Price was preceded in death by her husband, Rod price; parents John Clyde and Lorraine Weber Champion; and her brother Steven Champion.
Associate Professor of Art Chris Stanley said Price retired after 35 years of service to UTPB as a full professor. She was quickly awarded emeritus status, which meant that she had rights and privileges to come back anytime she wanted.
“And we shortly brought her back … She led us through a very, very difficult period of time, especially during the reaccreditation process when we needed her surgical vision …,” Stanley said.
He added that Price was a fierce advocate for women in the arts and a force in moving UTPB to a four-year university.
During her tenure, Stanley said Price oversaw nearly every critical phase of the creation of the art major.
She also hired Stanley and several others to work at UTPB.
The Pam Price Endowed Art Scholarship has been established in her name. Stanley said it is now up to $55,000, thanks to an anonymous donation revealed Tuesday. Price’s estate also gave $10,000.
Former UTPB President David Watts, who attended the gathering, said he knew Price the whole time he was at UTPB. Her work is on display at the Nancy Fyfe Cardozier Gallery.
“Anything I would say would just duplicate what’s already been said. She was a great faculty member, great teacher, visionary leader. And as as you can see … an incredible artist so her passing is a loss, but she left a great legacy,” Watts said.
Associate Professor of Art/Chairman of the Department of Arts Mario Kiran said he started at UTPB in fall 2009, hired by Price.
“… She and I became pretty good friends. She’s advised me on a lot of stuff. When I get stuck with something, especially the administrative part of it, I visit with her, talk to her and she would give me advice. She would say, OK so these are the things you need to do. These are the things that might happen and these are the things you’re going to do in order to move things forward,” Kiran said.
In lieu of flowers, people may donate to the Pam Price Endowed Art Scholarship, www.utpb.edu or main a tax-deductible contribution to the Office of Institutional Advancement, UTPB, 4901 E. University Blvd., Odessa, TX 79762.
