Tisch Dean Mary Schmidt Campbell Becomes Chair of New York State Council on the Arts

By Richard Pierce

Mary Schmidt Campbell, dean of the Tisch School of the Arts, was recently confirmed as chair of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) by the New York State Senate. Campbell, who was nominated for the position in June by Governor Eliot Spitzer, will continue to serve as dean of the Tisch School.

Campbell has had a distinguished career in the arts for more than 30 years as an editor, author, lecturer, art historian and curator, and museum director. As executive director of the Studio Museum in Harlem for 10 years, she led the museum at a time when it became a lynchpin in the economic development of Harlem and one of the city’s major cultural institutions. She has served as commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, where she was the chief spokesperson for the New York City cultural community and oversaw the operating expenses and capital improvements of the city’s premier cultural institutions.

Under Campbell’s stewardship, the Tisch School has become one of the most selective schools at NYU and at the same time has increased the percentage of minority students studying there. She has completed major renovations of the school’s facilities, and inaugurated new programs in Art and Public Policy, Film Preservation and Archiving, and Recorded Music. Earlier this fall, the school opened Tisch Asia, located in Singapore, which is NYU’s first independent degree granting program outside New York.

She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a board member of The American Academy in Rome. Campbell holds honorary degrees from the Maryland Institute College of Art, The College of New Rochelle, Colgate University, City University of New York, and Pace University. She received her B.A. from Swarthmore and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Syracuse University.

“No one is more qualified and worthy to lead the council as it fulfills its mission to protect and grow the cultural resources of New York for the benefit of all its citizens,” said President John Sexton. “I know I speak for everyone in our community when I offer Mary my congratulations.”