Faculty Overview

The highly ranked VS faculty and staff consist of professionally and internationally active artists scholars and technicians who make available a diverse range of discourse and expertise. A partial list of the fellowships secured by our faculty only within the last few years suggests its strength: Guggenheim Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Warhol Foundation, Terra Foundation, Smithsonian, Fulbright Fellowship, National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Capital Foundation, American Association of University Women, American Academy in Berlin, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Chalmers Arts Fellowship.

Complementing the faculty, multiple lecture series bring in internationally renowned artists, designers, historians, critics, curators and scholars on a regular basis throughout the academic year. Guest speakers are available to graduate students for individual meetings and studio visits and for both graduate and undergraduate class visits.

The Visual Studies faculty are building increasing opportunities for their students for international academic exchange and study. One example is the in depth art exchange between the Dept. of Visual Studies and the School of Fine Art at CAFA (Central Academy of Fine Arts) in Beijing, China. CAFA was identified as “China’s top art school” by The New York Times in 2008. The exchange between Visual Studies and the School of Fine Art has now grown into a full collaborative effort between the two institutions, resulting in the opportunity for Visual Studies MFA graduate students to work closely with their Chinese counterparts at CAFA in realizing intensive, productive residencies and high caliber art exhibitions in both countries, as well as an ambitious project publication.