Lawrence Ramer

[CalArts] – Lawrence Ramer, a deeply appreciated and decisive member of CalArts Board of Trustees for 22 years, has died at the age of 84. The Los Angeles businessman and philanthropist, was known throughout the city for his role in the cultivation of the arts and service to the greater good.

Mr. Ramer was a Trustee of CalArts from 1990-1995 and 2006-2012. From 1995-2006, he provided extraordinary support and leadership to the Institute as the Board’s longest standing Chairman. His unwavering commitment to the financial health and well-being of CalArts over his many years as a Trustee and Chairman of the Board of Trustees helped position the Institute for sustainability and long-term growth.

Over the many years of this tenure, Mr. Ramer repeatedly demonstrated his resolute support of the Institute’s continued growth. In the chaotic aftermath of the 1994 Northridge earthquake, he calmly dedicated himself to the rebuilding of the CalArts campus.  Under Mr. Ramer’s steady leadership, CalArts embarked upon and completed its most significant endowment campaign in history. In addition, his presence on the Board of Trustees attracted other donors and friends who provided significant support for CalArts and its mission.

Among other business ventures, Mr. Ramer served as chairman of Ramer Equities, an investment firm focused on developing manufacturing concerns in Los Angeles. In addition to his stewardship of CalArts, he served for a decade as president and chairman of the Center Theater Group in downtown Los Angeles.

The Institute will forever remember and be grateful to Mr. Ramer for his fiscal guidance, legal negotiations, and constant spiritual support in the building of REDCAT—the most significant effort to bring CalArts heightened public visibility and presence since the Institute’s founding. Mr. Ramer was quick to see the opportunity afforded by a dedicated CalArts facility in the Walt Disney Concert Hall Complex and worked tirelessly on the negotiations with the County and with the company that made its construction possible.