Vanderbilt University has launched a national search for the founding dean of the Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang College of Art, Architecture and Design, pending approval as the flagship college of Vanderbilt’s future San Francisco campus, which is scheduled to open in 2027.
Appointed by Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs C. Cybele Raver, a faculty advisory search committee will partner with Spencer Stuart, an executive search firm with deep expertise in higher education, to help identify the college’s inaugural leader.
“The defining challenges of our time demand both technical expertise and creative imagination,” Raver said. “This Vanderbilt campus will position art, architecture and design as essential partners in discovery, innovation and problem-solving. By bringing these disciplines together with Vanderbilt’s strengths in research, engineering and entrepreneurship, we will educate students who can create, design and lead in ways that expand opportunity and enrich society.”
Committee members include:
- Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development, Peabody College (chair)
- Jennifer R. Frist, BS’93, Vanderbilt Board of Trust
- Darren Reisberg, vice chancellor for operations and the campus network
- Tracey George, deputy provost and Charles B. Cox III & Lucy D. Cox Family Chair in Law & Liberty (ex officio)
- John Kuriyan, dean of the School of Medicine Basic Sciences, University Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Biological Sciences, and Mary Geddes Stahlman Chair
- Pengfei Li, senior lecturer of Asian Studies
- Leah Lowe, professor of theatre and director of the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy
- Kevin Murphy, Norman L. and Roselea J. Goldberg Chair, chair of the Department of History of Art and Architecture, and professor of History of Art and Architecture
- Vesna Pavlović, Paul E. Schwab Chair in Fine Arts, chair of the Department of Art, and professor of art
- Jon Shaw, Connie Vinita Dowell University Librarian and dean of libraries and letters
- Liz Zechmeister, vice provost for graduate education and growth initiatives, dean of the Graduate School, and Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair of Political Science
Vanderbilt’s San Francisco campus is expected to welcome its first students in 2027. Pending approval, the Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang College of Art, Architecture and Design will build on the nearly 120-year legacy of the California College of the Arts while advancing Vanderbilt’s strategic vision for interdisciplinary education at the intersection of art, architecture, design, engineering and entrepreneurship.
Vanderbilt faculty who want to nominate candidates for consideration may contact Spencer Stuart via a confidential email inbox. The email address is VanderbiltCAADDean@SpencerStuart.com.
