West Virginia sculptor, dean to interview for KU dean of fine arts

LAWRENCE -- The first finalist for dean of the School of Fine Arts at the University of Kansas will be on campus Sunday through Tuesday for interviews and a public presentation.

The candidate, Donald Van Horn, will give a public presentation during an open forum at 4 p.m. Monday, March 24, at Swarthout Recital Hall in Murphy Hall. Van Horn also will meet with the search committee and senior administrators for the university and the school and tour the Lied Center and the Spencer Museum of Art.

The university is conducting a nationwide search to replace Dean Toni-Marie Montgomery, who is leaving KU in June to become Dean of the School of Music at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Van Horn is the first of five finalists to be interviewed for the KU position.

Van Horn has been dean and professor of art for the College of Fine Arts at Marshall University in Huntington, W. Va., since 1995. He previously held several positions at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, including associate dean for academic affairs (1994-95); acting chair for the departments of Philosophy/Religious Studies and Rhetoric/Writing (1994-95); and chair and associate professor for the Department of Art (1989-1993).

Van Horn earned his bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and his master of fine arts from the University of Florida at Gainesville, with a concentration in sculpture.

More than 1,400 students are in enrolled in the KU School of Fine Arts' 40 degree programs within its three academic departments: Art, Design, and Music and Dance.

Established as an academic unit in 1891, the KU school sponsors exhibitions and performances in the Art and Design Art Gallery, Swarthout Recital Hall, Bales Organ Recital Hall and the Lied Center of Kansas, which was named among the top U.S. university arts presenters by International Arts Manager Magazine in 1999.

The departments of Art and Design are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, and both rank among the top 35 of nearly 300 accredited institutions. The Department of Music and Dance is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. Its master of music degree program is ranked 26th among 600 musical institutions throughout the nation by U.S. News and World Report.