Mary Schmidt Campbell
Dean, Tisch School of the Arts
B.A., M.A., PH.D.: HON.: D.F.A., D.H.L., PH.D.
Mary Schmidt Campbell was appointed Dean of the Tisch School of the Arts in 1991.
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 $70 million capital campaign. As Associate Provost for the Arts at NYU from 2004 to 2007 she provided guidance and leadership in the arts which transcended individual schools at NYU. Dean Campbell was also Chair of the Department of Art & Public Policy at the Tisch School of the Arts from 2000 until 2007.
In June 2007, Campbell was nominated by the Governor of New York State to head the New York State Council on the Arts, and was later confirmed as chair by the New York State Senate.
Previously, she was New York City Commissioner 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 and co-founder of the Community Folk Art Gallery in Syracuse, New York.
She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and sits on the board of The American Academy in Rome. She holds honorary degrees from The College of New Rochelle, Colgate University, City University of New York, Pace University, and Maryland Institute College of Art. She has given numerous lectures, authored many papers and articles, and is co-editor of Artistic Citizenship: A Public Voice for the Arts, (New York: Routledge, 2006 and 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.
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