Brown selected dean of AU’s College of Arts and Sciences

ASHLAND, Ohio – Ashland University is pleased to announce Katherine T. Brown will become dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. She will begin her leadership of the college July 1, taking over for Dan McDonald who served as interim dean during the 2021-22 academic year.

“We gladly welcome Dr. Brown to the Ashland University campus. Her experience and expertise as well as her proven collaborative work will strengthen the liberal arts here at AU,” remarked AU President Carlos Campo.

Brown has served in various roles at Walsh University since 2011, including as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences since July 2021. She began at Walsh as an assistant professor of art history and advanced up the ranks to an award of full professor in 2020. Her leadership roles there have included being the Director of the Honors Program for one year and leading five Global Learning programs to Rome and London. She was also a Visiting Scholar at the American Academy in Rome during the summer of 2019 and currently serves on the board of the Italian Art Society.

“We welcome this committed humanities scholar-leader to Ashland University,” commented Amiel Jarstfer, provost at AU. “Dr. Brown’s work and publications in art history and museum studies plus her work to support up-to-date general education demonstrate a commitment to a liberal arts foundation in the university learning experience.”

Brown has held a variety of teaching and leadership positions at several universities in the U.S. as well as education and curator positions in U.S. museums. Prior to her tenure at Walsh, she served as an adjunct professor of art history at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, Hunter College within the City University of New York system and Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga. She was also the program coordinator and art historian for the University of Georgia’s study abroad program in Cortona, Italy, for four years. Additional museum experience includes five years as director of the Hay House, a historic Italian Renaissance Revival house, and curator of the Macon Foundation, both sites in Macon, Ga.

Brown holds a Ph.D. in art history and a master’s degree in art history, both from Indiana University, and a bachelor’s degree in art history from Florida State University.

Ashland University is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.