Mary Schmidt Campbell

Mary Schmidt Campbell, B.A., M.A., PH.D.; HON.: D.F.A., PH.D., Dean, Tisch School of the Arts; Associate Provost for the Arts

Mary Schmidt Campbell was appointed Dean of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University in 1991 and Associate Provost for the Arts in December 2004.

Campbell is also chair of the Department of Art and Public Policy at the Tisch School since 2000. Under her stewardship as Dean, the Tisch School has tripled the number of applications it receives, cut its acceptance rate in half, and increased the percentage of minority students studying there from 10% to 40%. She has initiated major renovations of the School’s film facilities; inaugurated new programs in Art and Public Policy, Film Preservation and Archiving, and Recorded Music; and is currently leading the School in a $75 million capital campaign. As Associate Provost for the Arts, her responsibility is to provide guidance and leadership in the arts which transcend individual schools at NYU.

Previously, she was Commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs from 1987-1991 in the Edward I. Koch and David Dinkins administrations. She came to city government after having served as executive director of the Studio Museum in Harlem from 1977-87. Prior to that she was guest curator and curator at the Everson Museum of Fine Arts in Syracuse, NY from 1974-76 and art editor of the Syracuse New Times from 1974-77.

She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and sits on the boards of the American Academy in Rome, the New York Shakespeare Festival, and the United Nations International School. She holds honorary degrees from The College of New Rochelle, Colgate University, City University of New York, and Pace University. She has given numerous lectures, authored many papers and articles, and is co-author of 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).

Campbell received a B.A. degree in English literature from Swarthmore College, an M.A. in art history from Syracuse University, and a Ph.D. in humanities, also from Syracuse. She is married to Dr. George Campbell Jr., President of The Cooper Union. They have three sons and reside in Manhattan.

"Bio of Mary Schmidt Campbell". http://www.tisch.nyu.edu/object/deanCampbellBio.html. Retrieved 2008-01-14.