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Provost's Newsletter: Fall 2018

Posted August 31, 2018, 3:21 PM

Updated December 4, 2018, 9:53 AM

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to the 2018-19 academic year! Please read this newsletter for important updates and reports related to faculty and Academic Affairs.

I am thrilled to begin the year with a full stellar team of staff and faculty leaders. I hope that over the course of the year you can get to know one another and collaborate across the college on at least one of the many initiatives we will be stewarding. Campus planning and unification continues to be a major area of focus and driving goal for much of our work. I will do my best to engage with the faculty at all stages of this project and am grateful for the service and leadership that many of you are contributing to this critically important project. I look forward to visiting classes, readings, screenings, exhibitions, lectures and reviews - getting up close to the work you do with our students in the classroom remains my most cherished part of each day.

Accreditation Update

CCA will host a visit from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design from October 14-17 this year as part of the organization's regular cycle of accreditation. NASAD is the national accrediting agency for art and design and art and design-related disciplines. (CCA’s primary accreditation is through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges or WASC, which conducted their reaffirmation visit in 2016.)

NASAD’s three-person team of peer evaluators includes

  • Brockett Horne, Chair, Department of Graphic Design Maryland Institute College of Art
  • Elissa Tenny, President, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
  • Ed Dorsa, Chair, Industrial Design Program, Virginia Tech.

During the visit, the team will meet with faculty, staff, administrators, and students; review student work by visiting classrooms and through an extensive exhibition of student work (all NASAD accredited programs) on both campuses; and ensure the college is achieving its mission and meeting standards.

We hope you will have an opportunity to engage with the visiting team since hearing from you will be the best way they can understand the amazing education that CCA students receive.

New Deans

I am happy to announce the appointment of three new deans in Architecture, Fine Arts, and Humanities and Sciences. I would like to thank Lisa Findley for serving as Interim Dean of Architecture during last year’s search for a new dean of the Architecture division. Lisa’s experience and leadership kept and held fast her division’s mission. I would also like to thank Jim Voorhies as he steps down as Dean of Fine Arts and moves into his new role as Chair of Curatorial Practice. Jim has exciting initiatives underway for the Curatorial Practice program and I look forward to seeing those develop over the next year (and beyond!). And last, but not least, I would like to thank Juvenal Acosta for his tenure as Dean of Humanities and Sciences. When Juvenal assumed the role in 2013, the position’s title was Director of Humanities and Sciences. Since that time, Juvenal has been a key voice and champion for faculty at all levels, not just in H&S, but across divisions. Juvenal will return to teaching when he gets back from sabbatical.

Please join me in welcoming the following new Deans to CCA:

Keith Krumwiede, Dean of Architecture

Keith is an award-winning educator, who has taught at the University of California at Berkeley, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the New Jersey Institute of Technology (where he served as Director of Graduate Architecture Programs from 2012-2017), Yale University (where he served as Assistant Dean of the School of Architecture from 2004-2012), Rice University, and the Otis College of Art and Design. Keith’s research and practice explore the relationship between architecture and its cultural, social, and political milieus. His recent book Atlas of Another America: An Architectural Fiction (Park Books, 2016) is a satirical assessment of the American Dream presented as an architectural treatise for a fictional, but uncannily familiar, suburban utopia. The book puts forward a critique of both American culture—reflecting upon the world we’ve made and the world we might have made—and architecture culture—lampooning its hubris and its often-complicit relationship to power and privilege. Most recently he was in Rome Italy as a prestigious Rome Prize Fellow.

Allison Smith, Dean of Fine Arts

Allison has exhibited her work both nationally and internationally. She has produced over twenty-five solo exhibitions, installations, performances, and artist-led participatory projects for venues such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Public Art Fund, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, The Arts Club of Chicago, and S!GNAL Center for Contemporary Art, among many others. Allison has lectured on her work extensively at art schools and research universities in the United States and abroad, as well as at the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, SculptureCenter and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics. Allison took a leave from her tenured position this past year and was teaching at Carnegie Mellon University. Prior to 2017, Allison taught for nine years at CCA, including chairing the Sculpture program for six years. Her college service included the Executive Committee, Academic Steering Committee, Co-Chair of the Campus Planning Committee, among many other important contributions to the college.

Tina Takemoto, Dean of Humanities and Sciences

Tina is a visual studies scholar and performance artist whose work explores issues of race, illness, queer identity, memory, and grief. Her current research explores the hidden dimensions of same-sex intimacy and queer sexuality for Japanese Americans incarcerated by the US government during World War II. Tina’s work has been exhibited and performed at Asian Art Museum, Oceanside Museum of Art, GLBT History Museum, New Conservatory Theatre, Sabina Lee Gallery, Sesnon Gallery, SF Camerawork, SOMArts, SFMOMA, and the Vargas Museum. She has received grants funded by Art Matters, Andy Warhol Foundation, James Irvine Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and San Francisco Arts Commission. Since 2003, Tina has taught in Visual Studies, graduate Fine Arts, graduate Visual and Critical Studies. She has held key leadership positions at CCA including most recently serving as Chair of APT, where she did important collaborative work on promotions policy and process.

Program Chair Leadership

As you likely know, we support transitions in the leadership of our academic programs and welcome our chairs to return to a focus on teaching and for faculty to rotate into chairships and play a role in academic and college leadership. At the end of 2018, the following faculty stepped out of chair positions and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their collective outstanding contributions: Terri Friedman (interim), David Gissen, Jessica Ingram, Melinda Luisa de Jesús, Aimee Phan (SP19), Kristian Simsarian, and Cathrine Veikos.

Please welcome the following incoming chairs:

Architecture

  • Amy Campos, Interior Design Chair
  • T. Jason Anderson, Masters of Architecture Associate Chair

Design

  • Steve Diller, MDes in Interaction Design Interim Chair
  • David Gonzalez, Industrial Design Assistant Chair

Fine Arts

  • Susanne Cockrell, Community Arts, Sculpture, and Individualized Major Interim Chair (FA18)
  • Linda Geary, Painting and Drawing Interim Chair
  • Chris Johnson, Photography Chair
  • Kari Marboe, Ceramics and Glass Interim Chair (SP19)
  • Ranu Mukherjee, Grad Fine Arts Interim Chair
  • Peter Simensky, Community Arts, Sculpture, and Individualized Major Chair (SP19)

Humanities & Sciences

  • Shylah Hamilton, Diversity Studies Chair
  • Tirza Latimer, Visual Studies Interim Chair
  • Eric Olson, Writing and Literature Associate Chair
  • Anne Shea, Writing and Literature Chair (SP19)

Faculty Governance Leadership

I want to thank the following faculty for their leadership in chairing faculty governance committees this year. I greatly appreciate their service to the college and look forward to working closely with them and their respective committees this year. Please visit the committee links on the Academic Affairs section of CCA Portal for complete membership lists.

Faculty Senate President and Chair of the Executive Committee

  • Emily McVarish, Graphic Design

Faculty Senate Vice President and Assistant Chair of the Executive Committee

  • Michelle Murillo, Printmaking

Chair of the Curriculum Committee

  • Rebekah Edwards, Critical Studies

Chair of Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure Committee

  • Jeanne Finley, Film (FA18)
  • Jeanette Roan, Visual Studies (SP19)

Faculty Updates

Congratulations to the following associate professors who were awarded tenure this past year:

  • Neeraj Bhatia, Architecture
  • Anne Shea, Writing and Literature

Stay tuned for an announcement about their tenure presentations later this year.

As part of our ongoing commitment to CCA’s ranked faculty, last year we conducted numerous searches for tenure-track and RNT faculty members and successfully hired 9 (!) new tenure track and 12 new RNT professors. Please join me in welcoming the following new faculty:

Tenure-track

  • Rachel Berger, Graphic Design
  • Monica Bravo, Visual Studies
  • Christopher Hamamoto, Graphic Design
  • Negar Kalantar, Interior Design
  • Mia Yinxing Liu, Visual Studies
  • Nathan Lynch, Ceramics
  • Adam Marcus, Architecture
  • James Pierce, Graphic Design
  • Peter Simensky, Sculpture

RNT

  • David Gonzalez, Industrial Design
  • Sharon Green, Graduate Interaction Design
  • Shylah Pacheco Hamilton, First Year
  • Margaret Ikeda, Architecture
  • Katherine Lam, Furniture
  • Brendon Levitt, Architecture
  • Christina Linden, Curatorial Practice
  • Christopher Loomis, Furniture
  • Carol Manahan, Critical Studies
  • Kari Marboe, First Year
  • Frederick Vincent, Diversity Studies
  • J.D. Zamfirescu-Pereira, Critical Studies

APT Stats Report

There were 48 ranked faculty members who applied for promotion review in the 2017-2018 Academic Year. Of these submissions:

  • Ten tenured applicants were eligible for promotion within rank. All were successful in their promotion reviews.
  • There were 19 successful RNT applicants, who applied for promotion within rank and renewal of their appointments.
  • Seven applicants applied for pretenure review and were successful.
  • Three faculty members underwent tenure review with promotion to the rank of Associate Professor. All applicants were successful in their reviews.
  • Two RNT faculty members were eligible for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor and renewal. Both candidates were successful in their reviews.
  • Two RNT faculty members were eligible for promotion to the rank of professor and renewal. Both candidates were successful in their reviews.
  • Two faculty members were eligible for promotion to the rank of professor. Both candidates were successful in their reviews.

There were 19 unranked faculty members who applied for promotion review in the 2017-2018 Academic Year. Of these submissions:

  • Ten candidates were successful in promotion to the rank of Adjunct II.
  • Two candidates applied for and were promoted to RNT positions

Two unranked faculty were eligible to apply for promotion to Senior Adjunct. Both candidates were successful in their promotion reviews.

Faculty Grants

The Provost’s Office supports faculty with a variety of grant opportunities. Faculty-led committees evaluate applications and make selection recommendations for awardees and the amounts to award. The evaluation committees consider and balance elements such as the type and scope of the project, the award history of the applicant, the distribution of applications by division, the promotions status of the faculty, and the limitations of funding.

In addition to the curriculum development, professional development and travel grants, for the first time last spring we offered a new exhibitions grant of up to $1000 per awardee. The exhibitions grants are designed to support faculty in the planning and presentation of a group exhibition at one of CCA’s campus galleries.

The total amount awarded for all grants was $82,000, which went to 56 faculty to support their activities. Awardees represented all divisions of the college and all classifications of faculty. We have overall increased the funding for faculty grants and development by 10% over the last two years and will continue the trajectory of building up the base of support.

In a continuing effort to improve the grant application and selection process, we have made a change for next year. Beginning this fall, the Curriculum Committee and Associate Provost Dominick Tracy will conduct the initial selection and recommendation for the Curriculum Grant. In this way, the Curriculum Committee can better support the curricular needs and development of the campus as a whole.

Shared Faculty Space in 80 Carolina

In January, we opened the shared faculty space in 80 Carolina. We have received great feedback on what is working in the space and what is not working. Based on suggestions by faculty, we have added lower tables and better seating, as well as more plugin power outlets. We are working with facilities to address other items faculty had identified to make the space more workable and comfortable. For those interested in statistics, between January to April, there were 126 unique faculty, who accessed the space 1087 times, which (roughly) averages 9 visits per faculty who used the space during that time period. For more information on access and usage of the shared faculty space in 80 Carolina, please follow the link here.

In closing, I am beyond excited to be launching the 18/19 school year with a robust team in Academic Affairs, which includes two associate provosts, a senior director of academic administration, division deans and directors, an associate director of faculty affairs and records, and other superb support staff. We look forward to supporting the work of the program chairs, faculty, and staff as we work together to provide the best education and experience for our students at CCA.

Have a great year!

Tammy Rae Carland, Provost