Kener E. Bond Jr.

Kener E. Bond Jr. was an artist and educator known for his insatiable curiosity and innovative teaching. Mr. Bond was born in Middletown, Orange County, and after graduating high school in Buffalo earned a bachelor's in art education at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He also was a veteran, serving at Camp Hanford in the state of Washington.

He taught art in the Le Roy Central School District and then at State University College at Geneseo and Nazareth College, before joining the faculty of Rochester Institute of Technology in 1972. He had earned his master of fine arts at RIT in 1963. He initially taught jewelry and goldsmithing, and he later introduced computer-aided design in the mid-1980s by helping secure a grant that brought computers to the College of Fine and Applied Arts., providing students with an important new artistic tool. His specialty was three-dimensional design with the use of computers. Mr. Bond also served as Associate Dean of the College and later returned to teaching. Whether it be goldsmithing or using an ornamental turning lathe, Mr. Bond developed a keen interest in various art forms and pursued them.
A longtime resident of Pittsford, Mr. Bond retired from RIT in 1995 with his wife, Doris. Mr. Bond died on Nov. 6, 2016 at the age of 86.