HAS Dean Nancy Stuart Announces Retirement
Nancy Stuart, who has served as dean of the Hartford Art School (HAS) at the University of Hartford since November 2011, has announced her retirement.
During her dozen years guiding HAS, Stuart oversaw significant program and facility enhancements, including the establishment and building of the Kaman Print Study Center; the formation of the Art on Campus and Alumni Forum programs; renovation of the Admissions Atrium; establishment of the Five Points Launchpad partnership that provided studio space for recent graduates; and the introduction of the first Whitney Artist-in-Residence year-long program as well as MFA Teaching Fellowships in photography and illustration. Stuart also helped secure internship funding for the Creative Career Connection and championed the art history department’s move into HAS.
“I am tremendously grateful to Nancy for her steadfast commitment to the Hartford Art School and the University of Hartford over these many years,” says Provost Katherine Black. “Her strong advocacy for the arts as well as her deep care for the HAS faculty, staff, students, and alumni have been an inspiration to us all. We are so very fortunate for her leadership, and I wish her well in her retirement.”
Prior to HAS, Stuart served as executive vice president and provost of the Cleveland Institute of Art. She began her career at Lansing Community College, teaching in and growing the photography program over a nine-year span. Stuart then spent 18 years in a variety of roles at the Rochester Institute of Technology, including chair of the Applied Photography Department and associate director of the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences. In 2001, she published her book, DES Stories: Faces and Voices of People Exposed to Diethylstilbestrol, with Visual Studies Workshop Press.
Stuart holds a doctorate from the SUNY Buffalo Graduate School of Education, and her dissertation, The History of Photographic Education in Rochester, N.Y. 1960–1980, was based on oral histories collected from photographers and teachers in the upstate area. She was an editor for the fourth edition of The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography, which was released in 2007. Stuart’s photographic work is in the collection of the George Eastman House; she has had numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout her career. She is currently a trustee of the New Britain Museum of American Art.
Upon retirement, Stuart looks forward to re-engaging with her photography and spending more time with her husband, David; following the careers of their daughter and son and their spouses who live on opposite coasts; and spoiling their two-month-old grandson.
Stuart will officially complete her tenure as dean on September 30, with responsibility for assisting with the leadership transition and completing projects through December 31. Additional information will be shared with the campus community in the near future.