Dear Advisory Council members,
I am writing to let you know that Jack Risley will be stepping down as chair of the Department of Art and Art History on Aug. 31, 2019.
Jack and his wife, Professor Amy Hauft, will be moving to St. Louis, where Amy has accepted a position as the director of the College and Graduate School of Art in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University. Please join me in thanking and congratulating them as they embark on this new chapter in their lives.
In his seven years as chair of the Department of Art and Art History, Jack has brought a spirit of collaboration to the department and college even as he elevated the department’s national reputation and rankings. Jack’s accomplishments are many, but I want to highlight some key milestones during his time in the department.
- The research profile of the department has remained strong and continues to attract excellent faculty across all disciplines.
- The M.F.A. in Sculpture program was most recently ranked seventh nationally by U.S. News and World Report.
- Programming in the Visual Arts Center (VAC) has been ambitious and integral to the department. Through collaborations with such organizations as The Contemporary, Landmarks, the Blanton Museum, the Warfield Center and the Israel Institute, the VAC has opened up the department to connections beyond campus.
- The digital fabrication lab was launched under Jack’s leadership, bringing with it with new technologies and equipment now in almost constant use by students.
- Jack has worked hard to create UT Summer ST.ART, a new program launching this summer for high school juniors and seniors. The three-week, hands-on immersive program teaches students new creative and fabrication skills, helping them build their art and design portfolios. Summer ST.ART is a smart recruiting tool to support a new generation of budding artists, while also producing a new pipeline of talent for our college.
I’m also grateful to Amy and her strong leadership in the M.F.A. program. Amy has spearheaded many new and innovative programs, such as the exchange program with the Royal College of Art in London and the St. Elmo’s Arts Residency. I’m also grateful to Amy for her steady leadership last year as interim director of the Visual Arts Center.
We will miss Jack and Amy’s collegiality and leadership here in the College of Fine Arts, and we wish them all the best in this new endeavor.
Doug Dempster
Dean
