The James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History at Wayne State University proudly announces that Department Chair John Richardson was elected president of the College Art Association.
Founded in 1911, the College Art Association (CAA) is the preeminent learned society in higher education visual arts and curatorial practice with a membership of over 10,000 individuals and institutions internationally. CAA promotes the visual arts and their understanding through committed practice and intellectual engagement.
Richardson was elected president at CAA's October 2015 board meeting. His term will begin May 1, 2016. He has been a member of CAA since 1995, was elected to the association's board of directors in 2013 and has served on its professional practices committee, on its annual conference committee and as its vice president for external affairs.
"John Richardson is very well qualified to assume the presidency on several fronts," said CAA executive director Linda Downs. "He studied both art and art history, is a department head, maintains an active practice as a sculptor and has broad leadership experience in several professional associations related to higher education visual arts. It is a very exciting time to begin the new presidency since CAA is making major changes to ensure a more flexible and engaging annual conference, to increase the potential for member networking, to reach out to a broader membership and increase services. I am delighted that the board elected John and I congratulate and thank him for taking on this major leadership role."
"I'm honored to be selected for the position of CAA president," said Richardson. "It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. During my term I will provide leadership in the implementation of the CAA strategic plan with a particular focus on rejuvenating the annual conference and being an advocate for the membership."
Richardson earned an MFA and MA in sculpture at University of Wisconsin and a BA at University of Puget Sound. He works in a variety of media, including cast and welded metals, rubber, glass, wood, plastic and stone. He has participated in more than 50 national group exhibitions and held many one-person shows. In addition to creating sculpture, Richardson makes frequent contributions to the arts as a juror, scholar and lecturer. At Wayne State he teaches a variety of sculpture courses and has taught three dimensional design and an interdisciplinary graduate art seminar. He has served the department as sculpture area coordinator, graduate officer, associate chair and interim chair.
"John's election brings more notoriety to a department with an exceptional history" said Matthew Seeger, dean of the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts. "It's a well deserved recognition of John's leadership and the quality of Wayne State's James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History."
Wayne State University's College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts serves 2,200 students majoring in 16 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs in art and art history, communication, music, theatre and dance. For the James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History, visit art.wayne.edu. Wayne State University, located in the heart of Detroit's Midtown Cultural Center, is a premier urban research institution offering more than 380 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 27,000 students.