Billy Mayer joined the Hope College faculty in 1978 and served as the Chair of the Department of Art and Art History from 1987 until 2004.  He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Pennsylvania State University.  Professor Mayer teaches sculpture and oversees the ceramics program. 

His sculpture has taken many forms and is executed in a broad range of media: glass, ceramics, fabricated aluminum, cast bronze and plastic.  Professor Mayer's large outdoor polychrome aluminum sculptures are a familiar site in the Holland area; one residing outside the Herrick Public Library, another at the Herman Miller Corporate Office, two on Hope's campus, on at the Howard Miller Company headquarters and another at Christ Community Church in Spring Lake.  His most recent work is in sculptural light fixtures, several of which are currently in commercial production.  Lighting commissions he designed can be seen in Holland at the New Holland Brewing Company, the Holland Bar Stool Company, and in Fennville at the Journeyman Restaurant. 

The somewhat eclectic range of his work reflects the wide array of his interests.  Professor Mayer is an amateur, but avid musician and collector of guitars and tube amplifiers. He is also an enthusiastic motorcyclist (owning 2 - a Buell, a Harley and over 400 toy motorcycles), a dedicated cross-country skier and recently has taken up kayaking. 

Professor Mayer traveled to Japan in May of 2002 with his wife, Michel, and Hope College students for a May Term in Japan. Billy traveled to Yeo Ju, Korea for the Millennial Ceramics Exhibition in 2001.  In May of 2004, Billy and his wife traveled to Jingdezhen, China for the 1,000 years celebration of Porcelain conference.