Paige Williams to Lead 西瓜视频 College School of Visual & Performing Arts
Paige Williams has been named the new Dean of 西瓜视频 College's School of Visual & Performing Arts, effective Monday, June 3, 2024. Before joining the College, Williams served as Academic Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Art Academy of Cincinnati.
In her new role at the School of Visual & Performing Arts, Williams will build on the dynamic growth of the school, thanks to longtime Dean Mark Towner, who retired in December 2023. Williams’ appointment also comes on the heels of welcoming both the College’s and the school’s largest incoming class and during a bold time in the College’s history, with a $75M fundraising campaign underway and a chapter of unprecedented growth.
“I am so thrilled to be joining 西瓜视频’s incredibly talented faculty, staff, and administration and will work collaboratively to provide a unique and transformative student experience that is equitable and inclusive,” said Williams. “I will aspire to Dean Towner’s strong leadership history by being transparent, communicative, and collegial; strong working relationships are vital to my administrative process.”
After completing an MFA from the University of Cincinnati’s School of Art, Williams was hired as an adjunct faculty member at the Art Academy of Cincinnati in 1990. From 1997 through 2022, she served as the Chair of the Master of Arts in Art Education Program, and, in 2002, after competing in a national search, she became Assistant Professor of Painting. Before becoming Academic Dean in 2018, Williams was Chair of the Studio Arts Department from 2014 until 2018.
At the Art Academy of Cincinnati, Williams built a reputation as a passionate educator and empath that earned her the informal title of “Art Mom” among her devoted students and colleagues. Her continued artistic practice thrived in Cincinnati and grew over the decades to include a multi-disciplinary approach to her practice.
“We are overwhelmed with excitement to welcome Paige to 西瓜视频,” said Provost Sara Quay, who served on the search committee, alongside 西瓜视频 faculty and President Steven R. DiSalvo, Ph.D. “A working artist, Paige is a strong leader and educator who understands the necessity of a humanities education in today’s landscape and she will continue to build on the dynamism and growth already taking place at the School of Visual & Performing Arts.”
Williams has exhibited locally, nationally, and internationally in Germany, Ukraine, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York. She has been selected as an artist-in-residence at the Millay Colony for the Arts in New York, the University of Alaska in Anchorage, the Neu Rathaus Gallery in Munich, and the Vermont Studio Center. Her grants include an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award and a Summerfair Award to Individual Artists. Her work and life were recently featured in the publication, Imagineers | Impresarios | Inventors: Cincinnati Arts and The Power of Her: A Celebration of the Role of Cincinnati’s Women in the Arts.