FAYETTEVILLE -- Gerry Snyder, a longtime academic arts administrator also known for his studio work, will lead the University of Arkansas School of Art as it seeks to add programs and faculty after unprecedented gifts totaling $160 million in support of arts education.
His hire, announced Monday, caps a search that began with a job announcement in October 2017 and then hit a setback when two finalists last year took jobs elsewhere.
Since 2014, Snyder, 65, has been dean of the Pratt Institute School of Art, which has its main campus in Brooklyn, N.Y., and is home to a Master of Fine Arts program ranked in a tie for 15th nationally by U.S. News & World Report.
Previously, Snyder was chief academic officer at Santa Fe University of Art and Design.
He will begin July 1 as the first executive director of the UA School of Art, set to grow after a $120 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. The gift was announced in August 2017 as the largest ever benefiting a U.S. university's art school. The UA School of Art offers degrees in art education, art history, graphic design and studio art.
"I initially would like to see how I could help build on the good work that the school's faculty and leadership have already accomplished while working on a strategic plan that would be focused on achieving the goals of the gift," Snyder said in an email.
At UA, he will earn $350,000 yearly, a total that includes a base salary of $266,000, said UA spokesman Mark Rushing. His other compensation will come in the form of an $84,000 administrative stipend from the University of Arkansas Foundation, Rushing said.
Snyder will hold the title of distinguished professor and also serve as an adviser to Chancellor Joe Steinmetz on arts integration.
Along with the Walton gift, UA has been awarded a $40 million gift from the Little Rock-based Windgate Foundation to pay for new arts facilities to be built in what the university calls its Windgate Art and Design District in south Fayetteville.
Steinmetz, in a statement, said "we will be able to infuse the arts across campus and focus on the integration of the arts and humanities with science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine."
A painter who also has produced drawings, photographs and videos, Snyder had his work featured in the 2002 Whitney Biennial, described by the Whitney Museum of American Art as the longest-running survey of American art.
"It's incredibly well-respected," said Hunter O'Hanian, executive director of the College Art Association.
Snyder also has two artworks that are part of the permanent collection of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, though they are not on public display, said Beth Bobbitt, public relations director for the Bentonville museum.
Khristaan Villela, executive director of the Museum of International Folk Art, said he worked with Snyder for more than 10 years at the College of Santa Fe and then its successor institution, the Santa Fe University of Art and Design.
"I think the University of Arkansas is very fortunate to have him. I think he's an inspired leader," Villela said.
At the Santa Fe, N.M., schools, where Snyder worked from 2000-2014, he "brought a clear sense of direction for the college and the university in terms of keeping the students first," Villela said.
Despite being busy as a dean, Snyder made time to attend evaluations of student artwork, Villela said.
"That sends a very powerful message, that your arts administrators have not lost sight of the importance they can have on individual students' lives by advising them and attending their critiques," Villela said.
Snyder led faculty "though a couple of different rounds of self-studies, which helped us to assess the quality of the teaching program and assess the quality of the different units at the university," Villela said, adding that Snyder has "a proven track record" of building new programs.
"I think he is decisive, but he also has a very open manner. He's a good listener. I think he has a more quiet aspect to him," Villela said.
At the Pratt Institute, out of 4,755 students enrolled last year, 1,348 were students in its School of Art -- including 354 graduate students -- according to the school's website.
UA's total enrollment of more than 27,000 students last fall included about 378 art students, according data published online by the university, with 32 graduate students. The U.S. News & World Report rankings, last published in 2016 and based on a survey of academic reputation, ranked UA's Master's of Fine Arts program in a tie for 173rd nationally.
The donor agreement with the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation listed several goals, including that the UA School of Art "aspire to a ranking of 25th or higher in the United States according to US News & World Report, and will hold itself to a floor rank of at least 50th within ten years."
In its proposal for the Walton money, UA also specified that its School of Art "will be constructed as a model for inclusion and diversity," including "with regard to racial, ethnic, gender and geographic background." In fall 2018, there were seven black students out of 346 categorized by UA as studying art, or 2% of the total.
Snyder said in an email he was traveling Monday and unavailable for an interview, but said "strong support" from UA's top leaders, including Steinmetz, "will help guide this once in a generation opportunity for the arts to have a leadership role in shaping our collective future."
Snyder said he was born in Idaho. He earned a bachelor's degree in painting from the University of Oregon and a master of arts degree in video art from New York University.
Todd Shields, dean of the UA J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, did not respond to a voice message and email asking about the search process.
"During the next week, I will be out of the office," stated an automatic reply from Shields' email account.
Metro on 05/21/2019