Stuart Baron, associate dean for faculty research, development and advancement at the College of Art and Design at Louisiana State University, has been selected as the second president of Delaware College of Art and Design.
Baron will start on July 1. The DCAD Board of Directors unanimously appointed Baron to the post Feb. 16.
Baron will succeed President James P. Lecky, who announced last August that he would step down at the end of the fiscal year. Lecky has led the college since it opened in 1997.
Lecky boosted enrollment, increased the residential student population and led a successful $4.8 million capital campaign. Under his leadership, the college received independent accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.
Baron’s knowledge and experience in professional art and design education made him the perfect person to succeed Lecky, said Stuart Young, chairman of DCAD’s board.
“With his national presence, he will build upon the successes we have achieved over the past 12 years and will provide us the guidance and leadership to grow regionally and nationally,” he said.
Baron said he was honored to be chosen as president.
“DCAD is a wonderful and unique institution, and anyone who heads it is fortunate to represent such a fine school,” he said. “With its associate of fine arts degree program, the college does something in two years that some schools cannot begin to do in four.”
Baron emerged from a field of more than 50 candidates as the best person to take Delaware's first and only art school to the next level in the community, state and nation, said Ellen Semple, a member of the Board of Directors and chair of the search committee.
“It was clear to the committee that Stuart would connect well, not just with the faculty and staff, but also with the students,” Semple said.
Baron earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in painting from Boston University.
He served as director of the School of Visual Arts at Boston University from 1989-1996, where he directed national student recruitment, increased alumni giving and developed an art anatomy course named one of five “Must-Take Courses at Boston University” by The Boston Globe.
In 2003, Baron was recruited by Louisiana State University to become Director of the School of Art, with more than 35 full-time faculty members and 500 students. Baron helped the school successfully initiate a selective admissions process and implement a prerequisite system for the BFA programs.
“Stuart exemplifies the best that arts administration and higher education have to offer: an astute administrator, a superb colleague and a strong advocate for student training and education,” said Michael Tick, chairman of the LSU Department of Theatre.
DCAD was formed in 1997 as the result of an educational partnership between Pratt Institute and the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C. The leaders of both schools said they look forward to continuing their relationship with DCAD under Baron’s leadership.
