Jeannene M. Przyblyski | Photo: China Central Academy of Fine Arts

[CalArts] – Noted artist, art historian and educator Jeannene M. Przyblyski has been named Provost of California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. Combining an impressive roster of accomplishments in higher education leadership and urban affairs, Dr. Przyblyski will begin overseeing the academic affairs of CalArts’ six schools—Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music and Theater—on August 1, 2012.

“We are delighted to welcome Jeannene to CalArts,” said CalArts’ President Steven Lavine. “As a skilled administrator, educator and practicing artist, she provides the right mix of abilities to the position. This experience, combined with her serious commitment to consensus building and collaboration, positions her to help CalArts meet the challenges and opportunities it faces in the current, rapidly changing artistic, economic and educational environment.”

Dr. Przyblyski brings a strong track record in arts education to CalArts, having served, since 2009, as Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs at the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) and as a tenured faculty member of SFAI’s School of Interdisciplinary Studies since 2004.

Commenting on her new position she notes, “CalArts has always stood for a deep and rich commitment to contemporary art—in all its diverse forms and multiple contexts. I am honored and excited by the opportunity to work with faculty and students to ensure that we continue to push the boundaries of art-making and world-visioning for years to come.”

Outside of academia, Dr. Przyblyski’s work links the arts with communities. Since 2001, she has been executive director of the San Francisco Bureau of Urban Secrets, a visual arts and urbanism think tank that promotes art as a mode of civic engagement and creative problem solving. In 2004, she led the team that helped develop San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s arts policy paper for the city. She was also an artist/consultant for the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.

Additionally, she served on the Board and Advisory Council of the San Francisco Planning and Research Association (SPUR), and the San Francisco Arts Commission, where she chaired the Visual Arts Committee, and served on the Civic Design Review and Executive Committees.

An accomplished speaker and writer, Dr. Przyblyski has lectured frequently at Bay Area cultural institutions including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Her publications span topics in the history of art, photography and urbanism.

Dr. Przyblyski holds a Ph.D. in the History of Art with a specialization in 19th and 20th Century Photography and an M.A. in the History of Art from the University of California, Berkeley.

Newsweek/The Daily Beast recently ranked CalArts America’s number one college for students in the arts. With its six related schools: Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music and Theater, CalArts is unique in its multidisciplinary approach to arts education. The Institute encourages students to recognize and explore the complexity of the aesthetic, social and political aspects of the arts. It is supported by a distinguished faculty of practicing artists and provides its BFA and MFA students with both the hands-on training and the engagement with the cultural community necessary for artists’ growth. CalArts was founded in 1961—and opened in 1969—as the first institution of higher learning in the U.S. to offer degrees in both the visual and performing arts.