About the College

Dear CADA community,

In January 2023, UIC’s College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts began formulating a strategic plan — one that keeps mission at the forefront — to guide the college over the next decade. This webpage was launched to share steering committee and planning information and solicit feedback from the college community.

My intention for this process is to encourage an expansive, college-wide conversation that considers where our disciplines are headed and ensures that we are training our students for what lies ahead. We know that our students represent the future of our fields, and we are incredibly proud of who they are and the radical, transformative diversity they bring to the disciplines we care about so much.

We recognize that the fields we trained and practice in are not necessarily the fields and practice of the future, and we must move from a place of courage and vision to orient the college forward, while bringing the parts of the past that we know we, and our students, cannot do without. We need to be intelligent about resources, and lead from a place of mission. As this process unfolds, we will update you and periodically ask for feedback that will be invaluable to our working process. This webpage encourages further feedback.

I look forward to continuing these conversations and to a final plan that our schools can use to drive more specific subsequent planning.

Rebecca Rugg
Dean

STRATEGIC PLAN STEERING COMMITTEE

Dean Rugg has convened a steering committee to establish a set of priorities and recommend initiatives to be incorporated into the strategic plan, and has hired CiTTA, a social impact consultancy that works with arts and higher education, to guide this work.

Steering committee members represent the breadth of schools, departments, and affiliates within the college. Committee members serve diverse roles in their professions and bring their input and varied experiences to the group. In service of the strategic plan, they represent the college as a whole. Committee members include:

Sharon Oiga, Professor and Chair of Graphic Design, School of Design, Co-Chair
Brent Talbot, Professor and Head of Music, School of Theater and Music, Co-Chair

Evelyn Gaynor, Director of Recruiting and Admissions
Ömür Harmanşah, Director, School of Art and Art History and Associate Professor
Ross Jordan, Interim Director, Jane Addams Hull-House Museum
Thomas Kelley, Associate Professor, School of Architecture
Jonathan Kinkley, Director of Advancement
Roni Lee, undergraduate student, IDEAS
Pedro Neves, Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Design
Collette Pollard, Associate Professor, School of Theatre and Music
Florencia Rodriguez, Director, School of Architecture and Associate Professor
Rebecca Rugg, Dean
Lorelei Stewart, Director, Gallery 400
Dina Taylor, Associate Dean of Administration
Tim Wood, graduate student, School of Architecture