Leadership Profile

Leadership Profile

Dean, VCU School of the Arts and Special Assistant to the Provost for the VCU School of the Arts in Qatar

1 Photo by Steven Casanova (BFA ’15)

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The Opportunity

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (VCUarts) seeks a deeply experienced and visionary leader. The next dean of the VCU School of the Arts will also serve as the special assistant to the provost for the School of the Arts in Qatar and will have the opportunity to join a highly energetic, engaged and talented faculty, staff and student population. The school, with a graduate arts program that has the highest U.S. News & World Report ranking ever achieved by a public university arts and design school, has established itself as a creative force, locally, nationally and internationally. The school encompasses a wide spectrum of disciplines whose distinctiveness fosters opportunities for premier collaborations and synergies within the school, across the university and around the globe. The next dean must embrace the opportunity to provide leadership for the caliber of creative work within the school. The faculty, students, staff and community set high aspirations for themselves, individually and as a school, and will expect the same from their next dean.

The School of the Arts educates approximately 3,000 undergraduates and more than 140 graduate students through programs both in Richmond and in Doha, Qatar. In Richmond, students are taught by over 175 fulltime teaching and research faculty members and more than 200 others who bring direct artistic experience into the classroom on a part-time basis, as well as 39 staff members that assist in in daily processes. The school is organized into 16 departments and programs, offering 18 bachelor’s degrees, six master’s

degrees and one doctoral degree. The School of the Arts has an annual budget of $38 million and an endowment of more than $13.5 million.

The School of the Arts is a catalyst for innovative collaborations across campus and the community. VCU is one of only 54 universities and only 19 public universities nationwide to achieve both “Community Engaged” and “Highest Research Activity” designations by the Carnegie Foundation. It is the recipient of the prestigious Peter McGrath Award for UniversityCommunity Partnerships from the Association of Public & Land-grant Universities. Within this dynamic university, the School of the Arts adds significantly to, and is supported by, the vitality of Richmond — a thriving capital city marked by innovative expression in art, theatre, design, dance, film, architecture and more. Ultimately, the work of the School of the Arts extends globally with partnerships throughout the world and across fields as diverse as the humanities, health care and business.

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Key Responsibilities

The dean will be responsible for the overall implementation of the mission and day-to-day operations of the School of Arts. Reporting to and working with the provost, and in coordination with the deans from other colleges, the dean will have responsibility for the strategic, programmatic, financial, fundraising and management operations that support the mission and vision of the School of Arts and its role within VCU. Additionally, the dean will have oversight for the School of the Arts in Qatar. In collaboration with the school’s leadership team, the dean will lead in shaping the future of the school, articulating a vision that defines its standard of excellence, the directions of its growth and the new and multidisciplinary connections that are possible not only across the university but throughout the world. Internally, the dean will be expected to create space for excellence and collaborations, while reducing obstacles that inhibit such goals, and actively foster a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment. The next Dean will be visible and accessible to the broad community of the School of Arts.

The dean will:
• Provide intellectual and artistic leadership by inspiring faculty, students, staff, donor partners and professional colleagues

• Identify and leverage opportunities that will capture the imaginations of a strategic and broad range of leaders on campus and in the community

• Extend partnerships with the public sector, expanding connections in support of the development and national presence of the school

• Communicate persuasively the mission and vision of the School of Arts to a broad stakeholder audience

• Develop and execute clear and realistic fundraising strategies along with sound fiscal and operational policies

• Advocate judiciously for the school

internally within the context of the mission of this public university;

• Recognize, reward, facilitate and actively participate in high-level research activities • Recruit and retain diverse and talented faculty colleagues in maintaining a commitment to excellence in collaboration with the school’s faculty

• Assure continued focus on students, both undergraduate and graduate, attending to their diversity and providing the services and the support to ensure their success

• Lead and manage effectively the overall operations of the School of the Arts and associated venues

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• Lead the development of a strong and diverse faculty, overseeing recruitment, development and promotion and tenure activities, In collaboration with school leadership

• Ensure and enhance the sense of community within the school and the university • Engage in active listening with all members of the community • Lead and enhance ongoing initiatives such as facility enhancement in support of academic excellence and chart new initiatives in collaboration with faculty and chairs

• Ensure transparency and openness in communications • Support faculty efforts to promote equity for students seeking multiple pathways toward academic excellence

• Promote a collaborative culture among chairs and encourage cross-departmental learning and strategic program development

• Provide mentorship and support for chairs' leadership growth and professional development

• Lead the school on its research initiatives within an arts context and as they relate to
VCU’s wider research goals (Dean's responsibility to Quest 2025 research theme.)

• Work with and be sensitive to the educational needs of diverse urban populations and support the university’s and school’s commitment to having a positive impact at the local community level, as well as nationally and internationally

• Promote engagement and communication across departments, disciplines, positionalities (students, teachers, faculty, staff, chairs, administrators) both within and beyond the school.

Professional Experience/Qualifications

The preferred candidate has a terminal or equivalent degree in an arts-related discipline or substantive experience, sufficient to warrant a tenured position at the level of full professor in the School of the Arts. In addition, they should have a demonstrated record of administrative accomplishment in fiscal, facilities and personnel management in the arts, academia or an arts-related field, as well as experience or suitable preparation for success in fundraising and development. The candidate must be able to

4 Photo by Allen Jones, VCU University Relations

cultivate an environment that will stimulate the development of initiatives that support student development, faculty goals and sustainability within the school and across the university. The successful candidate should also possess an entrepreneurial spirit, a passion for embracing diversity, a record of building relationships internally and externally and a talent for fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration.

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They should possess a forward-looking vision for the role of the arts and the ability to inspire a community toward its fulfillment.

The next dean should also possess:
• A commitment to developing and promoting quality research, scholarship and creative expression

• A strong record of leadership and success in elevating excellence • A commitment to continuous improvement of student learning and faculty teaching • A demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion

• A commitment to faculty and programmatic development

• An entrepreneurial, innovative and global orientation

• An interest in fostering community/university/national collaborations and partnerships

• A demonstrated commitment to cross-disciplinary programs

• The ability to articulate the school’s vision, goals, accomplishments and needs to constituents

• A record of success and ability in recruiting and retaining talented and diverse faculty • A history of inspiring faculty to excel in teaching, research, scholarship and creative activities and rewarding excellence in these areas

• Demonstrated leadership in infrastructure development and organizational maintenance, including attention to standards articulated by the national accrediting bodies of the various disciplines in the school

• Experience as a seasoned, decisive leader and diplomat with strong organizational and consensus-building skills, integrity and the ability to inspire and lead faculty with diverse interests and scholarly approaches

• A strong belief in shared governance • Strong communication, management and organizational skills • A record of exemplary personal and professional integrity

Experience in international education and, especially, with campuses in foreign nations is highly desirable.

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Institutional Background/Culture

School of the Arts

The school is known for hands-on learning and experimentation and for encouraging students to push the boundaries of their creativity while working alongside some of the most acclaimed artist-faculty in the nation. Its curricula focus on cross-disciplinary collaborations with scholars from divergent fields, taking advantage of the school’s role as part of a major, urban public research university.

In their programs of study, undergraduate students master necessary skills for their

chosen

professions

and

creative

endeavors. They cultivate a habit of critical thinking and inventive problem solving, and they articulate their aesthetic endeavors in relation to local and global concerns. Graduate students develop a comprehensive, historical and current understanding of their fields. They effectively explain how their work contributes to current critical and scholarly conversations and they demonstrate the ability to become leaders in the arts.

6 Photo by Diego Valedez (BFA ’14)

Upon enrollment, students join a community of highly accomplished artists, designers, performers, scholars and mentors who share a steadfast commitment to excellence and exploration.

Students are inspired by School of the Arts faculty members, whose creative accomplishments have been seen in Tony Award-winning theater productions, nationally celebrated dance companies, world-class museums and international design competitions. Their artworks and research projects have been funded through grants from private foundations, public agencies and scholarly organizations. Their career accomplishments have been recognized with prestigious awards from professional arts organizations and foundations including MacArthur Fellowships, Guggenheim Fellowships, United States Artists Fellowships and Rome Prize winners.

VCU School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUQatar)

Established in 1998 through a partnership with the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, the School of the Arts campus in Doha, Qatar offers an opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in fashion design, graphic design, interior design and painting and printmaking, a Bachelor of Arts degree in art history and a Master of Fine Arts degree in design. VCUQatar enrolls over 300 undergraduate and 14 graduate students.

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As the foremost example of its commitment to global outreach and education, VCUQatar presents valuable opportunities for cross-cultural exchange and connects the School of the Arts to the influential art and design world of the Middle East. The campus attracts renowned contributors to contemporary visual culture for speaking and teaching engagements, and hosts two major international events — the design conference Tasmeem Doha and the Hamad bin Khalifa Islamic Art Symposium.

VCUQatar embraces creative innovation as contribute to the vitality of human, social, economic and

a

means to

environmental development in Qatar and the region. The school engages with emerging art and design industries in Qatar and is a significant catalyst for growth. VCUQatar graduates have gone on to establish their own businesses, entrepreneurial development in Qatar; and many pursue successful careers within the government, nonprofit and

contributing

to

7 Photo via School of the Arts website

private industries in Qatar and around the world. These legacies have established VCUQatar as a center of excellence for education and research in art and design in the region, while furthering the global reputation and reach of the VCU School of the Arts.

VCUQatar features comprehensive facilities and resources that serve the arts and design disciplines, including the only materials library in the Gulf region, 3-D printers, green screen facilities, a wood shop and gallery facilities. It was the first campus established in Qatar’s Education City, and has since been joined by Weill Cornell Medical College, Texas A&M University, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Carnegie-Mellon University, Northwestern University and HEC Paris. Students and faculty benefit from their proximity to these prestigious institutions through cross registration and collaborative research opportunities.

Degrees

The VCU School of the Arts offers 18 bachelor’s degrees, six master’s degrees and one doctoral degree. Students at the graduate level can receive an M.F.A. in Design (three concentrations), Fine Arts (nine concentrations), Theatre (four concentrations), an M.A. in Art History (two concentrations), a Master of Music or a Master of Art Education.

Ph.D. program in Media, Art, and Text

VCU’s interdisciplinary doctoral program in Media, Art, and Text (MATX) is a joint endeavor of the School of the Arts, the Department of English, and the Robertson School of Media and Culture. MATX emphasizes the historical and theoretical foundations essential to the scholarly

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study of media, broadly defined, both old and new. It provides an intellectually stimulating environment that encourages students to work both collaboratively and independently, as well as across and between disciplines and media.

The da Vinci Center

A collaboration of VCU’s Schools of the Arts and Business, the Colleges of Engineering and the College of Humanities and Sciences, the VCU da Vinci Center is a unique collegiate model that advances innovation and entrepreneurship through cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Accreditation

VCU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, and each of the School of the Arts degreegranting programs is accredited by one or more of the following agencies: National Association of Schools of Art and Design, Council for Interior Design Accreditation, National Association of Schools of Dance, National Association of

Schools

of

Music,

National

Association of Schools of Theatre, National Council for Accreditation for

8 Photo by Steven Casanova (BFA ‘15)

Teacher

Education,

Virginia

Department of Education.

Rankings

The School of the Arts graduate arts program has the highest U.S. News & World Report ranking ever achieved by a public university’s arts and design school. The sculpture program holds the number one ranking for both public and private schools; the Department of Craft and Materials Studies has two disciplines ranked (glass at No. 3 and ceramics at No. 9); and the graphic design (No. 7), painting (No. 7) and printmaking (No. 10) disciplines are also ranked in the top ten.

The VCUarts Office of Research and Innovation

The VCUarts Office of Research and Innovation provides guidance to faculty, departments, programs, centers and institutes in their pursuit of external funding for research, sponsored projects and interdisciplinary collaborations. Services include project and research design, proposal-writing consultation, budget design, partnership development and funding source identification. The Arts ORI also serves as an incubator for interdisciplinary research themes and potential school-based research institutes and centers. Currently in development is the Institute for Arts and Health Innovation in collaboration with the School of Medicine. This institute will promote and support interdisciplinary research and collaborative projects that fall into one of two areas of specialization: neurodiversity or the patient and family experience.

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The Center for the Creative Economy

The Center for the Creative Economy promotes the creative economy as a network of industries that center their activity on producing creative assets, potentially generating economic growth and development. The CCE operates three programs, each providing an experiential learning environment that expands the scope of any specific creative discipline. Collectively, the CCE and its programs provide students opportunities to collaborate with one another and learn from diverse disciplines, experiences and perspectives; navigate their education in an entrepreneurial way; and translate their entrepreneurial mindset to a new world of work, where they can apply their talents, skills and passions in unexpected places.

Commitment to diversity and inclusion

The school values diversity in all of its forms and supports a community in which individuals of different perspectives, life experiences and cultural backgrounds are welcomed.

Art Foundation

A

one-year program

required of all students prior to entry into one of the fine arts or design B.F.A. Foundation intellectually

program,

Art

an

is

rigorous, studio-based experience in the fundamental issues of art and design.

Visiting artists

The School of the Arts

departments

and

programs sustain an impressive visiting artist program. At the same

time that the school is an active participant in local, national and international arenas, it attracts renowned artists, designers, performers and scholars from across the country and around the globe. They come to teach as visiting artists, present lectures about their work, lead workshops, and serve as jurors and critics or curate exhibitions of students’ work. As they absorb the energy of the thriving creative community, they are invariably struck by the caliber of the students, the quality of the school’s facilities and the rigor of engagement in conversations that shape the arts and design fields. Public dialogue that explores the role of art and design in society is facilitated by the Arts Research Institute. Meanwhile, an array of presenting programs in theater, dance and music directly connect the school to the regional community.

Development

In September 2016, the university launched a three-year, $750 million capital campaign called “Make It Real.” The school’s campaign goal is $25 million and is currently at $19.2M. The

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school’s campaign average in five years is $3.1M. A key group of donors are members of the Pollak Society, about 120 annual donors at the $1,000 level and above who receive insider access to monthly high-profile events.

Budget

The current school budget provided from the university is more than $38 million, which includes a unique tuition differential charged to art majors but does not include endowment income or revenue generated from indirect costs. The school operates on a hybrid RCM model. The school also offers internal grant opportunities for full-time and part-time faculty, as well as undergraduate and graduate students.

Facilities

The VCU School of the Arts is located in a unique urban setting in the city of Richmond, Virginia, on the edge of the largest area of occupied Victorian-era homes in the United States, known as The Fan. While the School of the Arts enjoys several purpose-built structures, many administrative academic university and offices, including some of those occupied by the School of the Arts, are housed

10 Photo via VCU School of the Arts

within

gracious

old

homes along Franklin Street which runs through the university’s Monroe Park Campus.

The School of the Arts facilities include lecture classrooms, offices, conference rooms, studios, computer labs, storage and workshops, as well as exhibition spaces and equipment distributed in 18 buildings across campus. The school has fully equipped shops for woodworking, metal fabrication, glassworking, ceramics, weaving, printmaking, silk screening and garment construction. There are darkrooms and editing stations for sound and video.

The upper level of the parking structure on Bowe Street, proximate to the main campus, is home to the Art Foundation Program. Accommodating 500 students, this contemporary space offers natural light, a wrap-around terrace and an elevated view of the city. It is located just north of Broad Street, approximately two blocks west of the Fine Arts Building.

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The Depot, at Broad and Laurel Streets, was formerly a terminal for the Richmond trolley system. After major renovations, this historic structure re-opened in fall 2015. It is home to the Center for Creative Economy, the VCUarts Office of Research and Innovation, a sound stage, and an infinity wall and motion-capture studio on the ground floor. The second level houses the Cinema Program. The Depot Annex houses facilities for the departments of Kinetic Imaging and Dance and Choreography.