Conference Organizers

Dr. Paul E. Bolin‌ received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Art Education from Seattle Pacific University in 1976, and afterward taught high school and middle school art in Oregon. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a M.S. in Art Education (1980) and a Ph.D. in Art Education (1986). Bolin taught at the University of Oregon between 1986 and 1991 before moving to The Pennsylvania State University where he was a member of the School of Visual Arts faculty from 1992 – 2001. In fall 2001 Bolin began teaching at The University of Texas at Austin, where he is now a Professor and serves as both Assistant Chair and Graduate Advisor for Art Education. Much of Bolin's research centers on the investigation of historical issues within the field of art education, and is directed particularly toward matters of art and public schooling in the late nineteenth century. His numerous publications include two volumes, co-edited with Kristin Congdon (University of Central Florida) and Doug Blandy (University of Oregon): Remembering Others: Making Invisible Histories of Art Education Visible  (2000) and Community-Based Art Education Histories  (2001). His book Writings in Art Education: Recipients of the Manuel Barkan Memorial Award, 1970–1999  was published in 2005 by the National Art Education Association. His co-edited volume (with Dr. Doug Blandy) Matter Matters: Art Education and Material Culture Studies  (2011) is published by the National Art Education Association. Bolin has presented his research at various conferences throughout North America, including the National Art Education Association, the American Educational Research Association, History of Education Society, International Visual Sociology Association, and the International Society for Education Through Art. For eight years (2001-2009) Bolin served on the Editorial Review Board of Studies in Art Education . For the two years 1999–2000, Bolin was editor of the National Art Education Association journal Art Education . Bolin has received teaching awards from the University of Oregon, The Pennsylvania State University, and The University of Texas at Austin. In both 1997 and 2007, Bolin received the Manuel Barkan Memorial Award for published research by the National Art Education Association. In 2001 he was awarded Outstanding Art Educator of the Year, by the Pennsylvania Art Education Association, and in 2009 he received the Texas Higher Education Art Educator of the Year, presented by the Texas Art Education Association. Also in 2009, Bolin was elected as a member of the Distinguished Fellows of the National Art Education Association.

Dr. Mary Ann Stankiewicz, the National Art Education Association's 2014 National Art Educator, is internationally recognized for her scholarship in art education history. Her research on art education history and policy has been published in major professional journals, and funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Spencer Foundation, and the Oregon Center for the Humanities, among others. Roots of Art Education Practice, a history of art education for K-12 art teachers, has been translated into Korean. She co-authored the chapter on nineteenth-century art education for the Handbook of Research and Policy in Art Education (2004) and wrote the first essay on international history of visual arts education (Bresler, 2007). Dr. Stankiewicz has presented papers and workshops at local, state, national, and international conferences. She coordinated art education programs at the University of Maine and California State University, Long Beach; was a program officer with the Getty Center for Education in the Arts, and assistant vice president for academic affairs at the Ringling School of Art and Design in Florida. She served on the Board of Directors for the National Art Education Association for six years and was NAEA President 2003-05. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the National Art Education Foundation, the Advisory Board for Arts Education Policy Review, and is a reviewer for other professional journals. A past-president of NAEA's Women's Caucus, she received the 2003 June King McFee Award from the Caucus. She was a member of the Art:21, Art in the Twenty-first Century public broadcasting series, National Education Advisory Council for seasons 2-4, and the Art:21 Education and Public Programs Advisory Council for seasons 5-6. She is Associate Editor (2013-15) of Studies in Art Education. Dr. Stankiewicz is currently working on a critical history of Massachusetts College of Art + Design.

 

Dr. Ami Kantawala‌ serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Art and Art Education Program at Teachers College, Columbia University since 2007. She also served as a full-time Lecturer and Program Manager in the Arts Administration Program at Teachers College from 2011-13. She completed her BFA in Painting and Metal craft at Sir J. J. School of Applied Art in Bombay, India, and went on to complete her Ed.M. and Ed.D. in Art Education at Teachers College in 2007. Her dissertation research on art education in colonial India was funded by the Dean's Grant for student research and Spenser Foundation Research Training Grant at Teachers College. She completed an extensive training program in Leadership in Higher Education from HERS Wellesley Institute in 2012-13.

At Teachers College, she has pioneered coursework on the History of Art Education through a unique visual studies lens.Her research intersects historical methods, cultural studies, postcolonial theory, higher education leadership, and mentoring. Dr. Kantawala has presented papers at various national conferences held by the  National Art Education Association, College Art Association, American Education Research Association and History of Education Society.  She has published articles in research journals such as Visual Arts Research , Studies in Art Education , and the International Journal of Art and Design Education. She recently guest edited two special issues titled, “Critical re-framing of art education histories” and  “Insightful and Creative Leadership within Arts Education: History, Challenges, Opportunities, and Practices” for the Journal of Visual Inquiry (Intellect Publishers). Her current research project includes documenting the learning and teaching experiences of artist-teacher Mabel D’Amico (1909-1999) and this research is funded by the National Art Education Association Foundation (NAEF). Dr. Kantawala also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Visual Inquiry: Learning and Teaching Art, Studies in Art Education, Journal of Social Theory in Art Education and serves as a reviewer for Canadian Review of Research.