Silas Rhodes

Rhodes was born and raised in the Bronx, New York City. His mother ran a failed wholesale egg business and his father worked for the U.S. Post Office as a postal clerk. Rhodes employed both of his parents in the administrative departments of the School of Visual Arts later in his life.

Rhodes received his bachelor's degree from Long Island University. He continued his education and obtained a master's degree from Columbia University. Rhodes wrote his dissertation on poet Robert Burns. He originally intended to become an English teacher, not a cartoonist.

Rhodes served as president of the School of Visual Arts for six years. Rhodes guided the school's growth. Under his presidency, the School of Visual Arts became the largest independently run college of art in the country, with nearly 2,700 students, well up from its original 35 students. The school currently enrolls more than 3,300 undergrad and graduate students as of 2007. Rhodes successfully persuaded the New York State Board of Regents to allow the school to confer a bachelor's degree in fine arts in the 1970s.

He also worked as a humanities teacher, reflecting his past education at L.I.U. and Columbia University.

Rhodes served as the creative director for one of the signature public projects of the School of Visual Arts. He helped advise and create posters designed by the school's faculty which have been displayed on the New York City Subway system for over 50 years. The posters are used to recruit potential students and to promote the School of Visual Arts.

Rhodes remained active at the school as the chairman of the board of directors up until his death in 2007.