Donald M. Rorke graduated from Syracuse University in 1954 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and an ROTC commission. He was awarded an MID from Syracuse in 1964 and additional work in management and design education at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He is a Vietnam veteran and an honor graduate of the U.S. Army Command & College. Mr. Rorke achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and retired from active duty in 1975.
Since 1992, Mr. Rorke has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Steuben, a division of Corning Incorporated, with offices at 717 Fifth Avenue in New York City. In this capacity, Mr. Rorke has been responsible for advancing Steuben’s 93-year symbol of American design and manufacturing excellence. In doing so, he has carried on the Steuben tradition of working with the world’s leading artists, designers and craftspeople.
In addition to his accomplishments at Steuben, Mr. Rorke has also served as President and Trustee of the Worldesign Foundation, serves on several other boards including The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, was chair of the Celebration of Partnership in Art, Design and Education, and is currently part of the national NEA/DOE advisory group planning how to design and arts can influence K-12 education reform in the United States. In addition, Mr. Rorke was presented the Bronze Apple Award by the New York Chapter of the Industrial Designer Society of America (IDSA) in recognition of his contribution to the industrial design profession of New York City.
Mr. Rorke resides in Connecticut with his wife Jean and has a son, who also graduated Syracuse University, and a daughter, who is a five-time Emmy winning documentary film maker.