Committee and Administrative Service
2021-present Director of Faculty Development, Sweet Briar College
Duties include:
Working closely with our VP for Academic Affairs, I mentor and promote faculty excellence as researchers, professors, and members of the community.
- support all faculty members’ research goals and grant writing;
- mentor all new faculty, including holding monthly themed lunches;
- support BIPOC faculty and staff;
- organize monthly pedagogical and DEI events,
- including twice annual Faculty Development Days;
- help faculty organize and craft tenure and promotion materials;
- hold multiple weekly research and writing groups;
- create and program a monthly series of talks featuring faculty research from across campus;
- hold one on one and group mentoring activities;
- collaborate with our Core and Quality Enhancement Plan Directors to connect their programs and educate the faculty on integrating and rethinking those programs.
2003-2015 and 2023-present Chair, Art History Department, Sweet Briar College
Duties include:
- oversight of departmental budget,
- class scheduling within and without of the department,
- assessment,
- advising,
- course development and major redesign,
- contract negotiation for colleagues,
- oversight of student employees.
2019-20 Faculty Fellow, Provost’s Office, Virginia Commonwealth University
Duties include:
Heading VCU’s Peer Mentoring Program organized by the Provost’s Office. Mentors and mentees come from all of VCU’s colleges, including the Medical campus, so it was truly multi-disciplinary in nature.
- created six workshops that focused on writing/creation/performance in a variety of manifestations,
- course development and organization,
- mentor maps,
- work/life balance,
- as well as writing a monthly newsletter for the group with topics designed to promote conversation between the pairs, and
- developing a Peer Mentoring Handbook.
- revised the original concept to include more faculty,
- especially those who are not on the tenure track at VCU (term and adjunct contracts) in response to Task Force documents they drafted.
- inaugurated a similar program for our VCU-Qatar campus and an expanded version of it within our Medical Campus.
- also in the process of creating a New Faculty introduction module that will help ease all faculty into their roles at VCU.
- working closely with the Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence as well as the Vice-Provost and multiple Associate Deans for Faculty Development.
2011-2012 Chair, Faculty Senate, Sweet Briar College
Duties included: Ombudsman and liaison between Senior Staff, administration and faculty, untenured faculty, and students; met regularly with President and Dean of Faculty; oversight of college budget and human resources; channel of communication to the Board of Directors; oversaw creation of an Academic Priorities Committee that was designed to streamline our committee structure and redistribute our level of service.
2010-2014 Member, Faculty Senate, Sweet Briar College
2013-2015 Director, Medieval and Renaissance Studies (MARS) program
Duties included: Oversight of interdisciplinary program, course scheduling, assessment, course development, planning and execution of invited lectures, and student and faculty/staff gatherings and trips.
2010 Co-founder, Medieval and Renaissance Studies (MARS) program, Sweet Briar College
Founded interdisciplinary minor that brought together three core and eight supporting departments; its mission is to encourage students to make connections across disciplines and holistically recontextualize Medieval and Renaissance culture.
2002-2015 Faculty Advisor (First-Year, Sophomore, and Major), Sweet Briar College
Duties included: Meet with First-Years during orientation to introduce them to our general education program, review their high school credits and college placements, discuss current interests to identify departmental advisers (this often takes a couple of semesters), keep their advising file current, transition student and file to major advisor. Major advising requires not just oversight of gen ed and major programs, but of study abroad, internships and job placement. I continued this work in an unofficial capacity at the University of Richmond and do so here at VCU as well.
2005-2015 Departmental Assessment, Sweet Briar College
Duties included: Wrote assessment mission rubrics and goals. Regularly analyzed and updated the measurement of those goals and the uses of their results. Resulting departmental redesign responding to findings.
2012-2015 Digital Humanities Ad-Hoc Committee, Sweet Briar College
Duties included: Organization and attendance of multiple events on campus including those led by Bryan Alexander and Jim Groom; application for and attendance at Blended Learning Conference at Bryn Mawr and the Kress Institute for Digital Mapping and Art History; presentation on Digital Art History at THATCamp @CAA (February 2015); drafting of accepted proposal to CIC Consortium for Online Humanities Instruction (Andrew W. Mellon Foundation) for course on “women artists in the global community” (sic); ideas learned and have been incorporated into curricular development, pedagogical reappraisal, and faculty scholarship.
2010-2015 General Education Ad-Hoc Committee, Sweet Briar College
Duties included: Attendance at and report submission for numerous conferences on General Education, Assessment Logistics, Global Learning, Student Success, First-Year Experience, Association of American Colleges & Universities’ Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP), as well as a week-long institute on General Education Reform (University of Vermont, summer 2013) the process of which this committee was engaged, in collaboration with the Academic Priorities Committee (on which I also served). Bi-annual participation in our Writing Assessment Rubric group.
2011-2012 Benchmark Committee, Sweet Briar College
Duties included: Set benchmarks for faculty salaries in conjunction with the chairman and vice-chairman of the BOD, the President, and our Director of Institutional Research based upon AACU, Annapolis Group, and Peer (endowment, operating budget, enrollment, acreage, etc.) comparisons.
2011-2012, 2014-2015 Academic Priorities Committee, Sweet Briar College
Duties included: Oversight of the college’s curricular focus; organization and implementation of faculty retreats around related topics; review and placement of open faculty lines in consultation with President, Dean of Faculty and Students, and VP for Financial Affairs.
2012-2015 e-Portfolio Pilot Group, Sweet Briar College
Duties included: Participation in e-portfolio training, including conference attendance and librarian and faculty consultation; I currently have 10 of my courses on Digication, allowing for interactive syllabus and assignments, student interaction, and for other faculty and staff to use as models. Students also had their own e-portfolios and we used these both for gen ed assessment and to highlight and assess the impact of interdepartmental interaction. For instance, in the MARS program, we had students process and enunciate the impact of the minor coursework in the form of biannual essays reviewed by the members and director. In addition, students then also have a record of their work over the four years to act as a fleshed out résumé.
2012-2013 Four-course Ad-Hoc Subcommittee, Sweet Briar College
Duties included: Researched the pedagogical and financial benefits and disadvantages of a four-course curriculum rather than the five-course model Sweet Briar College formerly employed. Composed a report for presentation to the faculty, Dean, and Board of Directors that included the argument for a reduction in the number of courses faculty teach per year, even though the total number of credits would increase. The proposal was adopted by all bodies.
2006-07, 2013-15 Instruction Committee, Sweet Briar College
Duties included: In addition to regular duties of curriculum oversight, members of the faculty not sitting on the committee were asked to participate in assessment reform for key areas of the general education program. I was involved in the reassessment of the oral skills, writing skills, and the knowledge areas of the fine and performing arts, language and culture, and non-European cultures.
2004-present Chair and Member on Various Search Committees: Archeology, Art History (three times), Arts Management, English Literature, History, Economics, and, Political Science
Duties included: Composing and advertising job posting in conjunction with committee members and HR, vetting and narrowing applications, managing zoom interviews, coordinating campus visits, negotiation with Dean for salary and benefits.
2006-2008 Committee on Women and Gender Studies, Sweet Briar College
Duties include: Course scheduling and requirements.
2006-2008 Member, Library and Instructional Technology Committee
Duties included: Participated in early discussion of and planning for Smart classroom refit and library renovation.
2007-2008 Chair, Library and Instructional Technology Committee, Sweet Briar College
2005-2007 Honors Committee, Sweet Briar College
Duties included: Admittance in to program, review of Honors First-Year, Second-Year and Upper-Level courses, Pannell Scholarship proposals, Honors Thesis prospecti, and Summer Honors Research applications.
2005-2007 Film Studies Committee, Sweet Briar College
Duties included: Film choice and schedule; when possible, organization of director lecture.
2003-2005 Archaeological Advisory Committee, Sweet Briar College
Duties included: Establishment of Archaeology minor, interview of candidates.
2004-2005 Chair, Archaeological Advisory Committee, Sweet Briar College
Non-Committee Institutional Service
2006-present Internal promotion letters, frequently called on to write for colleagues
2004-2015 Organized numerous scholarly campus lectures, Sweet Briar College
Duties include: drafted invitation, secured funding, oversight of PR, and hosted and introduced lecturer.
Selected speakers: Niria Leyva-Gutiérrez, “Latin American Art Series” (2004), Joan Holladay, “Queens and their Books” (2005), Denva Jackson “The Quest for Power” (2013), Larry Nees, “Islamic Jerusalem” (2012), Nick Basbanes, “The History of Paper” (2014), Asa Mittmann “Wicked Somethings” (2015)
2003-2015, 2021-present Faculty representative, Sweet Briar College Friends of Art
Duties include: Annual presentation on the state of the department, Acquisitions Committee, Faculty Chair of the Sculpture Commission Celebrating FOA and the completion of the Cochran Library Renovation.
2011 Interviewed for “Art Collection and the Curriculum,” Visions (Sweet Briar College Friends of Art newsletter)
2010 and 2013 Highlighted Professor, Sweet Briar Alumnae Magazine
Spring 2011 Co-author, Arts Management Mellon Foundation Officer’s Grant draft, Sweet Briar College
2007-2008 Guest Curator, “Connect the Dots: Worldwide Art,” Anne Gary Pannell Gallery, Sweet Briar College
Spring 2006 Host and Presenter, “Art Talks” coinciding with exhibit, “Sight and Insight, A Survey of Art History, from the Sweet Briar College Collection,” Anne Gary Pannell Gallery, Sweet Briar College.
2004 Evaluator, Sweet Briar College Junior Year in France Program
Scholarly Service
2023-2026 Vice President
International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA)
I will serve as President of the ICMA from 2026-2029
VP Duties include:
The mission of the International Center of Medieval Art is to promote and support the study, understanding, and preservation of visual and material cultures produced primarily between ca. 300 CE and ca. 1500 CE in every corner of the medieval world. To this end the ICMA facilitates scholarship and education and sponsors public lectures, conferences, publications, and exhibitions.
- As a member of the Executive Committee, shadows the President to understand my future tenure. This means serving as an intern for 3 years.
- Chair of the Grants and Awards Committee. This means chairing the committee that decides in the early fall on the three Research and Publication grants to be awarded with funds given annually to the ICMA by the Kress Foundation. This also means chairing the committee that decides in the spring on the two Graduate Student Essay Prizes, three Graduate Student Dissertation Travel Awards, and one Student Research Award.
- Attends Finance Committee meetings, held thrice per year.
- Travel: Attends and helps prepare for Board meetings twice a year; the spring Board meeting is at the Medieval Congress at Kalamazoo, MI, and the fall Board meeting moves (though it is in New York about every other year). And attends annual ICMA meeting/reception for members at CAA.
- Helps establish policy for the ICMA
- Supervise activities of the ICMA
Presidential Duties include:
2023-2026 Board Member
Virginia Educational Development Collaborative
4-Year Private College representative
The Virginia Educational Development Collaborative (VEDC) brings together educational developers from across the state to connect, share expertise, and advance the field. Our members represent a diverse range of institutions and centers for teaching and learning in Virginia.
Duties include:
- Plan and attend quarterly meetings and annual conferences to exchange ideas and effective practices
- Connect with fellow developers at other institutions to brainstorm solutions to common challenges
- Stay up-to-date on the latest research and approaches in educational development
- Create shared resources and materials to enrich our centers and programs
- Join a statewide community of developers committed to pedagogical innovation and student success
- Lead and participate in mentorship programs to support early career developers
- Develop strategic partnerships and collaborative projects across institutions
- Engage in outreach that highlights the value of educational development to key stakeholders
At its core, VEDC aims to foster professional growth, cultivate strong cross-institutional partnerships, promote inclusive and equitable practices in higher education, and provide developers with opportunities to advance their scholarly and creative endeavors.
2022-2025 Nominated and elected to the Council
Medieval Academy of America
Duties include:
“To conduct, encourage, promote and support research, publication and instruction in Mediaeval records, literature, languages, arts, archaeology, history, philosophy, science, life, and all other aspects of Mediaeval civilization, by publications, by research, and by such other means as may be desirable.” (MAA By-Laws)
- Establish policy for the Academy and shall bear ultimate responsibility for its affairs
- Initiate and oversee activities of the Academy
- Approve the annual budget before the beginning of the fiscal year
- Oversee all expenditures.
- Appoint an Executive Director, a Treasurer, one or more editors of Speculum and of other Academy publications, delegates of the Academy (including a delegate to the American Council of Learned Societies).
- Fill Committee vacancies on an annual basis
- Meet at least quarterly, including a meeting in conjunction with the annual meeting.
2020-23 Nominated and elected to the Board of Directors
International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA)
Also serving on the Digital Services and Audit Committees. The ICMA has just elected a new president and will be undergoing a mission review. In March 2020 the Digital Services Committee designed a “Resources for Online Teaching” posted on its website, which it has continued to expand. We are in the process of updating the whole website and adding in a “Member Mosaic” that will include a quilt of images linked to text explaining each object’s personal and scholarly importance, as well as initiating a variety of other outreach and pedagogical projects.
2020-present ICMA Digital Mentoring and Lecture Program, Initial Lead Organizer
We have begun this program with an afternoon session held during the virtual International Medieval Congress at Leeds University (vIMC) on July 9th, 2020. Using Zoom, I designed a meeting space for a group of member mentors and mentees who had agreed to participate. We began in a single group to hear a talk on publishing practicalities by Susan Boynton (Columbia University), co-editor of Gesta, followed by a question and answer session. I then moved everyone into three breakout rooms which had separate topics based upon feedback by participants via Google Forms (PhD Application and Survival process; the Job Market; and Fellowships and Funding), and then came back together again for a final exchange. We have additional mentoring events and lectures lined up for the coming months.
2023 NEH Reviewer for Humanities Collections and Reference Resources (HCRR) Panel 9: World History – Pre-Modern
2019-present Book Reviewer for Penn State Press
2016-present Consultant, advising the department of European Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, on the new installation of its medieval collections, that includes collaboration with Peter Schertz (Ancient and Byzantine art) and John Henry Rice (South Asian and Islamic art)
2016-present Book reviewer for Speculum, journal of the Medieval Academy of America
2016 External Reviewer, assessment of assistant professor’s promotion file
2014-2017 Membership Committee, International Center of Medieval Art
2014-2015 Co-Chair, International Center of Medieval Art sponsored sessions, “Moving Women, Moving Objects 300-1500,”Annual College Art Association Conference (New York City, February 2015) and 50th International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan (Kalamazoo, MI, May 2015)
2009 Peer review panelist for the NEH Summer Stipends program
2006 Reviewer of manuscripts submitted to the Art Bulletin
Student Support
2002-present Faculty Advisor (First-Year, Sophomore, and Major)
Duties include: Meet with first year students during orientation to introduce them to our general education program, review their high school credits and college placements, discuss current interests to identify departmental advisors (until major is declared), keep their advising file current, transition student and file to major advisor. Major advising requires oversight of gen. ed. and major programs as well as of study abroad, internships and job placement.
spring 2020 Organized a team of graduate students to recreate a virtual version of Virginia Commonwealth University’s campus gallery, the Anderson, using game design and photogrammetry covered in my Digital Art History graduate seminar (spring 2020), so that the senior class’s BFA Capstone Exhibition could still take place during the COVID-19 quarantine. To see the test site enter here (password: hello).
2001-present Conceived, planned, and co-led many student study trips to Charlottesville, Richmond, Washington, Baltimore, and New York
2002-present Faculty oversight of numerous successful internship, job, scholarship, and graduate school applications for University of Richmond and Sweet Briar students
Selected Internships: Smithsonian Museum, Cloisters Museum, Peggy Guggenheim Museum (Venice), Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts
Selected jobs: National Gallery (Washington DC) Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cooper Hewitt Museum, and New York Foundation for the Arts, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, VCUarts the Anderson
Selected graduate programs: Harvard, Chicago, Columbia, Georgetown, the University of Texas at Austin, Christies at University of Glasgow, the University of Syracuse, and the University of Edinburgh
2005-present Advisor or second reader on numerous PhD dissertations, Masters and Honors Theses, Directed Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Richmond, Sweet Briar College, and external institutions
Duties include: Oversight of composition and presentation of prospectus, editing and guidance during the research and writing process, finding funding to support research and writing, creation of dissertation or thesis committee, including selection and request of outside reader, organization of defense and final submission.
Process for undergraduate work is very similar to a masters thesis: a multi-semester process beginning in the junior year, often including study abroad and application and acceptance into Summer Honors, composition and presentation of prospectus, oversight of senior-year schedule, editing of multiple drafts, creation of thesis committee, including selection and request of outside reader, final draft, presentation, and submission.
spring 2016 Faculty contact to students in Introduction to Geo-Visualization, University of Richmond, Geography Department and Digital Humanities Lab
2005-present Advisor, Sweet Briar College Honors Summer Research Program recipients
2005-present Advisor, MARCUS (Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference of Undergraduate Scholarship) participants, Sweet Briar College
2002-2015 Advisor, Pannell Scholar Sophomore Honors Research recipients (formerly Pannell Scholars Fellowship), Sweet Briar College
2011 Conceived, planned, and co-led The Pyrenees: Pilgrimage, Heresy, and Courtly Love, a Sweet Briar College student and alumnae trip to France and Spain
2007-2010 PACE Grant (Promoting Academic and Community Engagement), tours for Amherst County 1st– and 9th-graders on Japanese and African art, Sweet Briar College
2002-2010 Arts Day Presentation to fifth graders from local schools, Sweet Briar College
2001-present Phi Beta Kappa Nominating Committee
Memberships
College Art Association (1994-present)
International Center of Medieval Art (1996-present)
International Medieval Society – Paris. Société Internationale des Médiévistes, Paris, (2005-present)
Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship (2013-present)
The Medieval Academy of America (2014-present)
Renaissance Society of America (2015-present)
Society of Architectural Historians (2015-present)
Italian Art Society (2015-present)
Material Collective (2015-present)
Historians of Islamic Art Association (2015-present)
Mediterranean Studies Association (2015-present)
Languages
French (Old French and modern), Latin (Roman and Medieval), German, Spanish, Italian