Life and Legacy

The Jerome and Salli Zimmerman Scholarship supports graduate students and honors Jerome’s fierce dedication to his practice.

Jerome Zimmerman MFA 65 SC played many roles. A longtime teacher. A Brooklynite who didn’t want to live anywhere but New York—until he traveled to France, enrolled in intensive language courses, and discovered the joy of village living and good camembert. Husband to Salli Zimmerman 65 PT for 56 years. And, above all, a sculptor for whom making was a way of life.

Now, a fund created in his memory will make an artist’s life possible for new generations of RISD graduate students.

“He described making art as setting a problem for yourself and grappling with it over time,” Salli explains. “His work was very intricate, and people would say, ‘Well how long did it take you to make this?’ And he’d say, ‘My whole life.’ ”

In that life, Jerome displayed a dual commitment to art and education. The son of parents who didn’t complete high school, he was grateful for the scholarship that made RISD possible and the faculty members who took students’ ideas and ambitions seriously. In his 35-year career as a professor and administrator at Long Island University’s Post campus, he viewed his students’ work with the same level of respect.

In retirement, the Zimmermans began spending more time at their home and studios in southern France. It was there that they began conversations about how they could continue to support generations of students. When Jerome became ill, and, in 2021, passed away, friends and family were not able to be there due to pandemic travel restrictions. Many were eager to find a way to memorialize his life.

Salli, along with her brother, Michael Putziger, and his former spouse, Myrna Putziger, created the Jerome and Salli Zimmerman Fellowship, which supports a RISD graduate student in Fine Arts. In addition to this initial gift, Salli has created a bequest by including RISD in her will so that the fund will continue to grow and eventually become a Presidential Fellowship—a fellowship for highly talented graduate students.

Salli believes that creating the fund is the best way to honor her husband’s life and passion. “The best way to describe it is that Jerome thought that making art was the most important thing in his life. And he was very aware of how being a RISD graduate student made that possible.”