Lecturer: Mary Schmidt Campbell

Biography

Scholar, author and former New York City Cultural Affairs Commissioner, Ms. Campbell is Dean of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. As head of this pre-eminent art school, Dean Campbell oversees all phases of its ten professional training programs, as well as its two scholarly programs. Dr. Campbell began her career in New York as the executive director of the Studio Museum in Harlem, widely regarded as the principal center for the study of African and African-American Art. Dean Campbell, who authored several catalogues on African-American artists, and frequently curated major exhibitions, firmly established the Museum as a major New York City cultural institution. In 1999, Crain's New York selected her as one of the City's 100 Most Influential Women in business, and in 2001 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dean Campbell co-authored the books Harlem Renaissance: Art of Black America (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 1987) and Memory and Metaphor: The Art of Romare Bearden, 1940-1987 (New York: Oxford University Press & The Studio Museum in Harlem, 1991). A noted expert on the artist Romare Bearden, Dr. Campbell also lectures and publishes widely on a range of subjects including arts policy issues and American cultural history.