Accepted position at Syracuse University
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 17, 2016) — After six years as dean of the University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts, Michael Tick will step down to assume the position of dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University. He begins at Syracuse July 1.
Under Tick’s leadership, the School of Art and Visual Studies moved into a new state-of-the-art facility through a nearly $24 million university investment in a renovated historic building. The building includes specialized areas such as digital media labs, a multipurpose 3D fabrication lab, student studios, and gallery space. In fall 2016, the college will launch the Creative Arts Living Learning Program in a new 1,100-bed residential hall with multidisciplinary spaces for visual, performing, and literary arts.
The facility, a partnership with the College of Arts and Sciences, will dramatically enhance student opportunities for creative discovery and innovation on UK’s campus. Because of Tick’s advocacy and commitment to facility improvements, the initial scope and architectural program are in place for a new School of Music Instruction building, which will support rehearsal space for the Wildcat Marching Band.
During his tenure, Tick built a centralized administrative support infrastructure for the College of Fine Arts with new positions for communications, recruiting, development, and information technology. The college hired its first chief financial officer and developed an integrated business unit in anticipation of the university’s new budget model. This centralized infrastructure provides strong fiscal oversight of program expenditures as well as a unified identity for student success and patron and donor engagement.
One of the College of Fine Arts’ many international successes under Tick’s leadership was a successful partnership with the Art College of Inner Mongolia University. In collaboration with the UK Confucius Institute, both colleges agreed to several terms including exchanges of students for study and research; exchanges of faculty members for research, lectures, and discussions; exchanges of academic materials and academic publications; and joint research activities. Delegates from Inner Mongolia came to UK’s campus in 2013 for a week of collaborative concerts, master classes, lectures, and exhibitions. Thirty-five faculty, staff, and students from UK traveled to Inner Mongolia in 2015 to do the same. At present there are nearly 20 students from Inner Mongolia completing their degree programs on UK’s campus through 2+2 and 3+1 programs. Discussions are underway for a similar program in Malaysia.
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