Pace University artist and administrator named director of Penn State School of Visual Arts

Charlotte Becket, senior associate dean at Pace University’s Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, has been named director of the School of Visual Arts in the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture, effective August 1, 2026.

Becket, who has held administrative positions at Pace University since 2009, is an exhibiting artist who has had solo, two-person and group exhibitions across the United States. She began her academic career as a faculty member at Hunter College, where she earned her master of fine arts degree. She joined the faculty at Pace University in 2008. She served as associate chair and later chair/co-chair of the art department at Pace between 2009 and 2020, when she was appointed associate dean of Dyson College. She was named senior associate dean in 2024.

B. Stephen Carpenter II, the Michael J. and Aimee Rusinko Kakos Dean in the College of Arts and Architecture, said Becket’s range of experience as an administrator, educator and artist has prepared her to lead the School of Visual Arts.

“We are thrilled to welcome Charlotte Becket to the College of Arts and Architecture. She is a forward-thinking artist and administrator with the experience to guide the School of Visual Arts in today’s academic and creative environment,” said Carpenter. “Her commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration and experimentation will facilitate a supportive culture for the entire school community.”

Becket’s visual artwork includes kinetic sculptures and installations that create projected imagery through analogue methods. Her sculpture, “Particle Horizon,” was part of “Winter Garden,” a 2025 group show in Catskill, N.Y., that was featured in Hyperallergic and Chronogram Magazine. Solo and two-person exhibitions include LaMama Galleria and Valentine Gallery in New York City; Crisp Gallery in London; and LEAP in Berlin, as well as group exhibitions in London and New York City. Her work has also been featured as part of the Time Equities Inc.-funded Art-in-Buildings Program, which brings contemporary art to non-traditional exhibition spaces.

Becket has lectured on her work at various galleries and universities and has been awarded grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the Tony Smith Foundation and the Verizon Foundation. Her work has been reviewed in The New York Times, Time Out London, Artforum and Art in America, and was included in the publication 100 Artists, a compendium of interviews with 100 international contemporary artists by Francesca Gavin. Recently, her work was acquired by the Thomas J. Watson Research Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and included in the library’s collection of artist-made books.

Becket said it’s a privilege to join Penn State as director of the School of Visual Arts.

“I am eager to collaborate with faculty, students and the broader community to advance the school’s mission and support ambitious, forward-thinking artistic practice. I look forward to building on the school’s strong foundation while expanding opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange, critical dialogue and meaningful engagement with contemporary culture,” said Becket. “Together, we will cultivate an environment that encourages experimentation, supports diverse perspectives and prepares artists and scholars to navigate and shape an evolving creative landscape.”