Director candidates announced for UA School of Art

The four finalist candidates for director of the University of Arkansas School of Art will visit campus in March and April for interviews, public presentations, and receptions.

The Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation of Bentonville in August 2017 announced a $120 million gift to establish the school, an investment Steinmetz called a “huge vote of confidence” for the university. About $50 million of the money will go to endowed scholarships, travel grants and internship programs and other financial support for students, $16.5 million will go toward endowed faculty positions, $33.5 million will go to developing curriculum and programs, and $10 million will go toward renovating the Fine Arts Center and supporting the Fine Arts Library, according to the UA.

Candidates presented Monday (March 19) by the search committee are:
• Elizabeth “Cassie” Mansfield, senior program officer at the Getty Foundation;
• Jack Risley, chair of the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Texas at Austin;
• James Rolling, professor of art education at Syracuse University; and
• Andrew Schulz, associate dean for research in the College of Arts and Architecture at Pennsylvania State University.

PRESENTATIONS
Each open forum presentation, titled “Visionary Arts Leadership in the 21st Century” will be held in Gearhart Hall room 235, the second-floor study lounge of the Honors College. Each 30-minute presentation will be followed by a 30-minute question-and-answer session. A meet and greet community reception with each candidate will also be hosted by the Honors College in Gearhart Hall room 130 the day after each presentation, according to the UA.

Those who attend may submit comments and feedback to Lynda L. Coon, dean of the Honors College, at [email protected].

The dates for the candidates’ presentations and community receptions are:
• James Rolling: presentation from 3-4:15 p.m. Tuesday, March 27;
reception from 2-3 p.m.  Wednesday, March 28;
• Elizabeth “Cassie” Mansfield: presentation from 2-3:15 p.m. Thursday, March 29; reception from 2-3 p.m. Friday, March 30;
• Andrew Schulz: presentation from 2-3:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 3; reception from 2-3 p.m. Wednesday, April 4; and
• Jack Risley: presentation from 2-3:15 p.m. Thursday, April 5; reception from 2:15-3:15 p.m. Friday, April 6.

THE CANDIDATES
Mansfield is senior program officer at the Getty Foundation, where she oversees initiatives in support of academic art history, identifies potential grantees in the international scholarly community, facilitates new project development and manages more than $4 million in active grants. Previously, she was vice president for scholarly programs for the National Humanities Center and held faculty appointments at New York University and Sewanee: The University of the South.

Risley is chair of the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Texas at Austin, where he oversees the department’s multiple art disciplines, which are home to 600 students, 50 full-time faculty and 25 staff members. He also holds the Cornelia and Meredith Long Chair, and has been an exhibiting artist for more than 30 years. Previously, he held faculty appointments at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, the Yale School of Art, New York University and The Cooper Union.

Rolling is professor of art education at Syracuse University, a program dually situated in both the Department of Teaching and Leadership in the School of Education and the School of Art in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. He has coordinated art education at the university in this role, and been recognized for his leadership, including his role as director of the Higher Education Division of the Board of Directors of the National Art Education Association. Previously, he held faculty appointments at Pennsylvania State University, the Teachers College at Columbia University and in New York K-12 education.

Schulz is associate dean for research in the College of Arts and Architecture at Pennsylvania State University, where he leads strategic planning and sets and implements the college’s strategic agenda for arts research and creative practice. He is responsible for research support services for external grant seeking, collaborative research initiatives, internal funding programs, technology transfer and industry partnerships, and compliance with research policies. Previously, he held faculty appointments at the University of Oregon, the University of Washington-Seattle and Seattle University.