Columbus Gay Man Leaves His Mansion to CCAD

In the article they do not mention that Ron was a member of our community.

clipped from www.dispatch.com Late businessman's donation to CCAD -- his mansion and artwork -- to be sold to create scholarship fund Monday,  February 1, 2010 2:58 AM By Encarnacion Pyle THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH A retired concrete company president left his $1 million mansion on Town Street to the Columbus College of Art & Design because of an act of kindness by its leader.

CCAD President Denny Griffith doesn't remember the good deed, but he'll never forget Ronald C. Sloter's generosity. Neither will future generations of students.

The Downtown college plans to sell the stately home across from the Deaf School Park, along with its multimillion-dollar collection of American art, to create an endowed scholarship fund.

A crew packed up the contents of the champagne-colored, chateauesque-style home last week in preparation for the March 28-29 auction in Chicago.

A day before workers arrived, Griffith walked through each room of the late-1800s, three-story house. He had hoped the college would be able to keep the house, but a legal dispute scuttled that plan.

"Hopefully, someone will get this house who loves it as much as we do," he said.

Sloter's wealth came from his family's concrete business, which he took over when his father died.

Over the years, Sloter contributed money anonymously to various groups. He became a regular donor to CCAD after striking up a friendship with Griffith. The two met when Griffith was deputy director of the Columbus Museum of Art, a job he left in 1998 to take the helm of the college.

In 2001, Sloter gave CCAD several tons of concrete to form the foundation of its giant red ART sculpture, which has become the school's gateway.

After his mother died in 2005, Sloter told Griffith he wanted to donate his 6,500-square-foot house and all of its art and furnishings to CCAD, along with a $2 million endowment to help keep up the property.

The house has several fireplaces, no two alike, with mantels of stone, wood and ceramic tile. The ceilings are spectacularly decorated with molded plaster and stenciled wooden beams. There are numerous chandeliers, as well as clear and stained leaded glass, giving the house an opulent feel.

A wooden lion stands guard in front of a stairway to the second floor. Mischievous faces are carved into the wooden posts, including one with its tongue sticking out.

But the highlight is a second-floor room that is completely covered -- the fireplace, floor, walls and ceiling -- in pale green, tan and other earth-tone ceramics from Cincinnati's famed Rookwood Pottery. Enchanting countryside scenes grace the walls, and an angel fountain adds a touch of whimsy.

Sloter's art collection includes paintings and prints by Theodore Earl Butler, Robert Henri, George Wesley Bellows and Mary Cassatt, said Leslie Hindman, who is handling the auction for CCAD. Some pieces are worth $40,000.

There also is a collection of American, Continental and English furniture and decorative arts, including several Rookwood vases, Hindman said.

"Ron hoped the school could use his home as a gallery, guest residence for visiting artists or to host other events," said Jeff Fisher, CCAD's senior vice president. "It was his way of honoring his parents, Wilford and Dorothy."

Sloter signed a will leaving his estate to the college, but CCAD didn't learn of it until after he died of cirrhosis on March 19, 2007, at age 61.

Sloter's sister, Susan Marion of Lancaster, sued his estate a short time later, claiming he must have stolen from the family business to be so wealthy. Marion was co-owner of F.W. Sloter Inc. before she and her brother sold it to Anderson Concrete Co. in 2006.

Sloter valued his estate at between $8 million and $11 million, but CCAD officials said it has been appraised at a much lower value. They wouldn't give a figure, saying the individual estimates vary widely.

CCAD reached a settlement with Marion in August. Neither side would disclose the amount.

Griffith said the school had hoped to keep the house, but the court case drained much of the money set aside for its maintenance, which is conservatively projected to cost about $100,000 a year, not including major repairs.

Worried about the costs, CCAD's trustees recently voted to sell the assets and use the money to create an endowed scholarship fund in Sloter's or his parents' name. The school will award up to 10 scholarships of varying amounts annually, at the board's discretion.

"CCAD is so lucky to have attracted Ron's attention," said Randy Arndt, a Columbus lawyer who was CCAD's board chairman when Sloter made his gift.

Arndt said Sloter was not well-known but had a big heart.

"His gift is transformation for the college -- and its students," Arndt said. "He's an angel of a donor and our guardian angel."

epyle@dispatch.com