School of Fine and Performing Arts Appoints New Associate Dean

July 25, 2012

The School of Fine and Performing Arts Dean’s Office welcomes Matthew Shenoda as the new associate dean.

Shenoda comes to Columbia College Chicago from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). While at CalArts, Shenoda was instrumental in spearheading and implementing policy changes for faculty hiring practices and equity initiatives aimed at creating greater faculty governance and representation. He also made regular contributions to furthering curricular and programmatic development and founded and programmed Art, Justice, and Global Aesthetics: The Equity and Diversity Lecture Series. Shenoda taught courses in cultural studies, creative writing, and the literary arts.

Previous to CalArts, Shenoda taught at a number of colleges and universities in the fields of creative writing and ethnic studies where he helped to develop and implement new curriculum and academic programs.

He also is an award winning writer whose poems and writings have appeared in a variety of newspapers, journals, radio programs and anthologies. He has been twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize and his work has been supported by the California Arts Council and the Lannan Foundation, among others. His debut collection of poems, Somewhere Else (Coffee House Press), was named one of 2005's debut books of the year by Poets & Writers magazine and was the winner of the inaugural Hala Maksoud Award for Emerging Voice, as well as a 2006 American Book Award. His latest collection, Seasons of Lotus, Seasons of Bone, was published in 2009 (BOA Editions).

Shenoda says: "I am extremely honored to join an institution that takes seriously the education and professional development of young artists as engaged citizens and that has maintained a progressive commitment to arts education that clearly views the communities of Chicago and the larger world as an integral part of aesthetic and art making practices. The global landscape and potential for burgeoning artists in the 21st century is multifarious and unending and I am confident that, along with my colleagues, we will continue to develop curriculum and programs that will prepare our students to become, not only incredible and influential artists and thinkers, but leaders and change agents in bringing the arts to the forefront of contemporary life."