Dean's Messages Archive

It is “celebration season” on campus! Despite the snow we had just 10 days ago, we are in full-on spring mode with activities across the college honoring faculty, staff, students, alumni, and donors. Although the presence of COVID still lingers, gathering in person again has been wonderful, and I have enjoyed meeting more alumni and friends over the past few months.

Some of you may have noticed a change – an addition, really – to my title. I am incredibly honored to be the inaugural Michael J. and Aimee Rusinko Kakos Dean in the College of Arts and Architecture. The Kakoses’ commitment to furthering arts and design education at Penn State is inspiring. The endowed dean’s chair is a transformational gift for the college and we are all grateful for the opportunities their generosity will provide. You can read more about their gift here.

Last weekend we celebrated the Kakoses’ gift and all gifts received over the past six years as part of the University-wide campaign celebration for A Greater Penn State for 21^st Century Excellence. The campaign began on July 1, 2016, with a $2.1B goal for Penn State and $70M goal for the College of Arts and Architecture. As of the April 22 celebration, Penn State donors have contributed $2.166B to the University and almost $90M to the college, and we are still counting. The campaign officially ends on June 30, 2022. The 90-minute campaign celebration event, directed by Rick Lombardo, director of the School of Theatre, featured lighting, sound, and technical design by students in the school; performances by members of our faculty, by the Blue Band, directed by Greg Drane, and by students in our Musical Theatre program, directed by John Simpkins; and a presentation about the Palmer Museum of Art by Erin Coe, director of the museum. College of Arts and Architecture interns, under the direction of Stephanie Swindle Thomas, also provided photography and videography support. Read about the celebration here.

Earlier in April we held our annual spring awards ceremony, where we honored undergraduate and graduate award winners, faculty and staff outstanding service recipients, and faculty and students who received University-level honors. It was my first time hosting the ceremony in person, and congratulating our winners with their colleagues looking on was very meaningful. Please take a moment to read more about our amazing recipients on our college awards website.

This weekend we are finally recognizing the Class of 2020 with a campus-wide celebration, plus a special event for Arts and Architecture alumni on Saturday afternoon. I hope to see some of you there!

Our final “spring celebration” is, of course, commencement, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 7, in Eisenhower Auditorium – the first college-specific in-person commencement since 2019. We are excited to welcome visual artist Dread Scott as our commencement speaker. He will sit down with me for a public interview at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 6, in Foster Auditorium. The interview is co-sponsored by the College of the Liberal Arts. Read more about Dread Scott and the event here.

Theatre Design and Technology student David Reingold will lead his classmates at commencement as college marshal. David and our academic unit marshals, who were selected based on academic achievement, leadership, and engagement, are stellar examples of the types of students we nurture in this college – high-achieving, creative, collaborative, and ready to lead us all into the future. You can read more about the marshals here. Finally, I have been asked to serve as the commencement speaker for the Graduate School on Sunday, May 8. In my remarks, I will reflect on my experience as an Art Education graduate student here at Penn State and offer thoughts on time, possibilities, and the power of verbs.

The past weeks have highlighted, more than ever, what an incredible community we have in the College of Arts and Architecture. Whether you are an alum, supporter, faculty member, staff member, or student, you make this college what it is – an amazing place to learn, work, and create. Thank you. I appreciate you.