As part of ongoing attempts to break down barriers between Lang and Parsons, Wendy Walters, the former co-chair of the Literature Department at Lang, has been appointed associate dean at The School of Art and Design History and Theory at Parsons.
Sarah Lawrence, the dean of The School of Art and Design History and Theory at Parsons, confirmed that the movement of faculty between colleges is the latest step to bring the schools closer together. “These cross-college transitions speak to a commitment to build curricular and collegial bridges across the university,” Lawrence said.
To make it easier for students to take classes at different schools, Walters and her colleagues are developing new degree programs. “We are exploring cross-college majors as well,” Lawrence said, citing the Dual Degree BA/BFA program as a success and envisioning something similar for the Art and Design History and Theory program.
For Walters, the conception of a cross college program doesn’t appear daunting as she notes many similarities between Art and Design History and Theory and Lang.
“ADHT is the program at Parsons that is closest to Lang…the faculty here are philosophers, they are art historians, they are museum practice people, they are innovators in terms of design education and design theory. So many of the ideas that get tossed around here are not so different in terms of methodology, in terms of practice, as my colleagues at Lang,” Walters said.
She sees many of the same topics, such as art history and gender theory, being broached at both colleges, yet in different contexts.
“Where at Lang you might have somebody approaching the topic of dance from a biographical perspective, you might have someone in Art and Design History and Theory approaching the topic from an architectural, art historical perspective,” Walters said.
Walters isn’t the first to make the move between the two schools. She mentioned colleagues like Margot Bouman, a Art and Design History and Theory faculty member who this year made the move to Lang to helm the Gender Studies department at the request of Dean Stephanie Browner. Bouman will serve as the co-chair of the department for three years and remain as the Assistant Professor of Culture at Parsons. Walters added that seeing faculty move across colleges is, “the next trend.”
The program isn’t just about bringing students of the two schools closer, but faculty as well, said Walters. Lawrence agreed that putting faculty from different schools in conversation and having them work together is necessary to the success of a cross-college program. “I believe there is much to be gained for the faculty to feel part of a community of scholarship and pedagogy across the University, and not to identify narrowly with the school by which they were hired,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence viewed Walters as the perfect candidate for the associate dean position due in large part to her previous work as a professor in the Department of Humanities at the Rhode Island School of Design. “There is an obvious parallel to the place of Art and Design History and Theory within Parsons, and I recognized that we could benefit from her experience,” Lawrence said.
Yet despite Walters’ new position and her desire to delve back into art, her eight-year stint at Lang has made it hard to leave the school.
“I consider myself a writer, that’s kind of my natural state,” Walters said. She will still be teaching introductory writing courses, ensuring that she won’t be saying goodbye to Lang for good.
Photos: Julia Himmel
