For 50 years, the College of Fine Arts has fostered creative excellence, inspired innovation, and strengthened communities across Kentucky and beyond. This historical timeline highlights key moments in our journey, from our founding in 1976 to the achievements that continue to shape our future. Look forward to special events during the 2026-27 season to celebrate 50 years of Fine Arts at UK!
Hubert Henderson Directed the School of Fine Arts, a division within the College of Arts & Sciences that grouped all the fine arts disciplines taught within A&S at the time.
In 1976 the School became its own College and Herb Drennon was named interim Dean.
Our founding Dean, J. Robert (Bob) Wills (1940-2012) had extensive experience in both theatre and administration. Alongside receiving degrees from the College of Wooster (BA-Theatre, Speech), University of Illinois (MA-Theatre), and Case Western Reserve University (PhD-Philosophy), Wills also received a commendation for excellence in Arts Administration from Harvard University, receiving his PhD while Acting Dean. Wills was Provost of Pacific Lutheran University, Dean of the University of Texas-Austin’s College of Fine Arts, and - after leaving UK - Dean Emeritus at Arizona State University’s Herberger College of Fine Arts. Wills also added the direction and/or production of over 400 plays to his list of experience.
Wha'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?
Bob Wills is often incorrectly recorded as J. Robert Willis. We can confirm he was a Wills, without the extra "i"!
Dr. Kristine Forney received the first PhD conferred by the College in Musicology. She went on to become a Professor of Music at California State University-Long Beach, and was inducted into the UK School of Music Hall of Fame in 1996.
The Department of Art first offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA).
The UK Center for the Arts is dedicated.
Having operated for a few years under the new college, Music reorganizes its graduate program. New and restructured offerings were DMAs in Performance and Composition, and PhDs in Musicology, Theory, and Music Education.
Succeeding Bob Wills, Richard Domek has been the College of Fine Arts’ only Dean with a background in music, receiving all three major degrees, BA, MA and PhD, in Music Theory from Indiana University, while also having experience in music education and composition. After completing service in the US Army and music doctoral studies, Domek joined the UK faculty, starting as an instructor in the School of Music in 1974. His deanship from 1982-1992 was not his first experience in a leadership role at UK, having been active in college governance through a position on its Academic Council, assisting in the development of the large number of new course designs and descriptions necessitated by the creation of the college.
Domek considers his position as Dean to be “the most interesting job I’ve ever had,” when looking back at the number of unexpected and exciting opportunities that presented themselves. Domek prioritized college visibility, working to let people both on and off campus discover what was offered by the college at that time.
Domek considers the Singletary Center for the Arts to have been a key component in advancing the college’s exposure. One notable initiative was a series of CFA benefit events.
Dean Richard Domek (left), University President Otis A. Singletary (right)
These involved visits to campus by well-recognized names in the arts. The first such program featured actress Helen Hayes, the “First Lady of American Theatre”; later events featured operatic artist Roberta Peters and Hollywood composer Henry Mancini. These events also featured performances by students and displays of student and faculty visual art. These initiatives contributed considerably to the visibility of the college on campus by faculty, staff, and administration as well as by the general public, recognition that he felt was essential to the new college.
Other advancements brought to CFA during Domek’s deanship were the acquisition of computers and infrastructure for digital technology, increased encouragement of faculty to apply for grants and awards, the creation of the Arts Administration degree program, and, notably, involvement in the hiring of a number of outstanding faculty, including for example Garry Bibbs and Bobby Scroggins in Art, Miles Osland in Jazz Composition and Performance, and vocal Professor Everett McCorvey, who has so greatly shaped UK’s opera program.
In the future, Domek hopes that the arts by virtue of offering live theatrical and musical performances and in-person interaction with visual art, prove of much greater societal and personal benefit as compared to individual encounters with the arts in isolation and only by means of a digital screen.
In his free time, Domek is still heavily involved in the arts, particularly in the performance and production of music. Domek is involved in many different musical groups, including the Walnut Street Ramblers, the Metrognomes, and the Kentucky Jazz Repertory Jazz Orchestra, which he co-directs. He also chooses to spend time playing piano for a memory care facility. Domek finds it very satisfying to stay connected with music, believing that in retirement, people should retain some kind of purpose, finding a portion of his own in continuing to share music with others.
The 126-seat proscenium theater in the Fine Arts Building was renamed for Professor Wallace N. Briggs (1914 -1993), who took over the reins of the Guignol Theatre in 1943. Briggs was a graduate of the University of Kentucky, and went on to do his graduate work in theatre at Yale University.
Geri Maschio made a profound impact on the University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts over her 35-year tenure and continues to guide faculty, alumni, and students. Joining UK in 1984, Maschio served as chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, founded the Arts Administration program, and spent a decade as associate dean before retiring in 2019. Recognizing a need to nurture future arts leaders, she helped launch one of the nation's first undergraduate Arts Administration programs in 1987. The Department of Arts Administration now offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, undergraduate and graduate certificates, and has become a model for institutions across the country.
In theatre, Maschio championed transformative projects, helping secure funding to renovate the Guignol Theatre, support research and productions, and bring meaningful works to audiences across Kentucky. While at UK, she valued her colleagues, the opportunities to teach and lead, and the ability to take on new challenges.
As the college grows, particularly through Dean Shanda’s leadership and the recent Gatton Foundation gift, Maschio sees its impact expanding through innovative programs, community engagement, and outstanding research and creative activity that will continue to transform the cultural landscape of the Commonwealth.
Rhoda-Gale Pollack, our only female Dean, held the position from 1992-1998. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon (BFA Theatre), San Francisco State (MA Theatre) and Stanford (PhD Theatre), Pollack represents the perseverance of women in academia that was necessary not all that long ago. Pollack supervised the Costume shop at UC Berkeley for one year before being hired by Mills College in the Theatre Department as the costume designer and supervisor/teacher in the Costume Shop. During the following ten years that she worked at Mills, she also designed costumes for professional theatres throughout the San Francisco Bay area. In 1976 Pollack was hired by University of Wisconsin Parkside to develop and head an undergraduate degree program in Theatre as well as teach and direct productions in the new Theatre Department. Immediately prior to working at UK, Pollack was the Dean of Fine Arts at Wichita State University, in a time where most top universities didn’t hire women for administrative positions. When reminiscing on her time at UK, Pollack notes the quality of both the institution and students, as well as the ability for faculty to be inventive and create curriculum that is tailored towards student interests.
While Dean, Pollack worked largely on the organization of the college, through the creation of a faculty guidebook, faculty committee that drew from all programs, as well as the hiring of necessary staff. Notably, Pollack streamlined faculty access to technology, as there was no access or infrastructure at all, working to have the Fine Arts Building wired, and tackling the budgetary process to make it a reality. There was also an effort to renovate and fix up the Reynolds building, further contributing to Pollack’s work to update the physical side of teaching and doing the arts. Along with this, Lucille Little’s major gift for the current Fine Arts Library was received very early on in Pollack’s time as Dean, also fostering a good friendship between the two women. Pollack emphasizes how proud she is of where the College has progressed in a very short time, and its productive development beyond just learning. Pollack also fondly remembers attending many student and faculty performances and exhibitions as Dean, as well as helping to develop the newly formed Arts Administration program, which she is pleased to see flourishing.
Pollack believes there is lots of desire for the arts in Lexington, and that the city has a healthy opinion on the role of the arts, resulting in a highly beneficial educational process for the whole population. With the new Fine Arts facility to come, thanks to the Gatton Foundation’s $150 million gift, Pollack is excited for the future of the fine arts and the expansion of the quality and quantity of arts in both the city and the state.
The community education program was launched to "open our doors to our local artistic community as a place to learn anew or expand on existing creative skills while utilizing the university’s state-of-the-art facilities". FAI, as it is often now referred to, still offers non-credit classes and workshops every semester and summer for anyone 18 years or older to register and participate.
Everett McCorvey, tenor, is a native of Montgomery, Alabama. He has performed in many cities around the world and theaters across the country, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Kennedy Center, Aspen Music Festival, Radio City Music hall, Birmingham Opera Theater, Teatro Comunale in Florence, Italy, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, England, as well as performances throughout Spain, the Czech and Slovak Republics, Austria, Japan, China, Brazil, Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Hungary, Mexico, Peru and France. He joined the Tony Award winning Sherwin Goldman Production of PORGY AND BESS at Radio City Music Hall in 1982 and was also part of the Metropolitan Opera’s Debut Production of Porgy and Bess in 1985.
Hired in 1991, Dr. Everett McCorvey has lead and expanded both the opera theatre and voice program at UK ever since.
A Dean with a background in the visual arts, Bob Shay was the Dean of the College of Fine Arts from 1998 to 2010, our longest-serving Dean. Shay graduated from New York University with a BA in art studio, and from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with an MFA in studio art with a concentration in ceramics. Shay is the only Dean with a media arts background. Professionally, Shay has had extensive experience both as a teacher and administrator. Shay received his teaching license and taught high school for three years before going back to school and getting his MFA, then shifting into teaching at the university level. After teaching at Nicholls State University for one year, Shay moved to the Ohio State University, staying there for 20 years and becoming department chair in 1984. Shay then moved to the Herron School of Art in Indianapolis where he was Dean from 1994 to 1998 before coming to UK.
Once Shay stepped down as Dean, he continued to teach ceramics and drawing courses within the School of Arts and Visual Studies, before taking phased retirement in 2022. Shay is still active within the college. He is a Donovan Scholar and takes ceramics courses in the school in which he once taught, and he participates in the public drawing classes offered twice a week through the Fine Arts Institute.
Dean Shay had an extensive impact on both the CFA and fine arts education in the state. He was influential in the fine arts extension service, previously administered by the College of Agriculture. The extension service brings arts outreach to rural Kentucky through programs of theatre, music, and fine arts. The first county to participate in the service was Pike county, with more counties added during Shay’s tenure including Laurel, Bullitt, and Muhlenberg. Shay was, and still is, very passionate about the extension program, and believes that it has been highly beneficial for the state of fine arts education throughout the Commonwealth.
The John Jacob Niles Center for American Music is a collaborative effort of the University of Kentucky School of Music, the College of Fine Arts, the Appalachian Studies Program, and the University Libraries. It is named for Kentucky folklorist and composer John Jacob Niles whose family provided a generous gift to help establish the Center and its collections. The Center provides a focal point for the research and performance of American music, from the early Colonial period through the present, with special emphasis on the culture of the southern Appalachian region. The Niles Center serves as a repository for primary and secondary research materials, and actively supports the development and dissemination of scholarly research in American Music. The Niles Center also hosts guest lectures by leading scholars in American music studies, as well as numerous concerts and recitals in the Niles Gallery, including the Appalachia in the Bluegrass noon concert series every Fall semester.
Dr. Ron Pen’s journey to becoming an influential figure in the University of Kentucky College of Music is as rich as the American musical traditions he champions. A graduate of Washington and Lee University (BA), Roosevelt University (MM in Composition), Tulane University (MA in Composition), and the University of Kentucky (PhD in Musicology), Pen brought depth and vision to every role he held.
Before arriving at UK, Pen chaired the Fine Arts Department in New Orleans. When he applied for a composition position at UK, he was asked to complete an entrance exam - one that he aced and earned him a fellowship in musicology. That moment set him on the path to earning his PhD and shaping American music studies at UK.
Pen’s career at UK evolved quickly: from teaching assistant to part-time instructor, then Associate Director and Director of Undergraduate Studies. When a faculty retirement opened a full-time position, Pen was the immediate choice. Beyond the classroom, he served in the University Senate, where he strongly advocated for the role of fine arts in general education and the idea that creativity should be woven into every student’s academic experience.
Pen began teaching in the late 1970s, the same era in which the Sony Walkman was released. He credits that time period for influencing his curriculum and coursework. He believes the Walkman brought the codification and accessibility of American music. The curriculum and courses he developed could now touch on a vast world of music, covering genres like rock, country, jazz, Appalachian music, and more, and he often invited musicians who specialized in these genres to share their expertise with his students firsthand.
One of Pen’s most enduring contributions is the creation of the John Jacob Niles Center for American Music. Inspired by his dissertation on Niles and by the Appalachian and bluegrass musicians he brought into his classes, Pen envisioned a dedicated space for the study and celebration of American musical traditions. Niles’ collection of papers was housed in the university’s special collections, and Pen worked with Niles’ widow, who later endowed the center, to create the center for research, performance, and preservation. The Niles Center, located on the first floor of the Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library, now serves as a performance venue and a repository for scholars exploring the breadth of American Music.
The Living Learning program for Fine Arts was originally housed in Roselle Hall. After construction was completed in 2016, the LLP moved to Holmes Hall.
Phase I of the William E. and Casiana Schmidt Vocal Arts Center renovation was initiated to help house and support the expanding Vocal and Opera Theatre programs. Renovations on the Schmidt building finished in 2009.
Dean Michael Tick is a man of theatre, earning his BA from the University of Rhode Island, an MA from Northwestern University, and a PhD from New York University. Tick was previously an associate Dean at Louisiana State University, as well as department chair for the theatre department prior to joining UK from 2010 to 2016. Though now the Dean of Syracuse’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, Tick greatly enjoyed living in Lexington and working at UK. Dean Tick looks back at his time as Dean fondly. Tick appreciated how active the School of Music was, making a point to go to as many concerts as he could, while also noting that all CFA departments and schools are incredibly strong.
While Dean, Tick spearheaded many initiatives from which the college still benefits today. Notably, Tick worked with President Capilouto to purchase the building that now houses the School of Art and Visual Studies, and made certain that SA/VS faculty had the ability to work with the architects to create a space suited for their program. Also during Tick’s tenure, Holmes Hall on North Campus became a Living Learning Community for creative arts students, including a dance studio, art space, and music practice rooms. The dance major was also approved while Tick was Dean, adding a new opportunity for CFA students.
Dean Tick believes that the impact of the College of Fine Arts on the Commonwealth is largely due to UK being the flagship institution for the state, heavily impacting not only Lexington, but Kentucky as a whole. In particular, he highlights our nationally recognized music therapy program, a part of the healthcare enterprise at UK. Tick finds the connection of the arts and healing to be deeply important to the welfare of patients, and considers that program to be one of the most important influences on Kentucky.
"I am thrilled to implement a dance minor into the Department of Theatre," says Thiel, UK dance coordinator and lecturer. "Everyone has been so welcoming and excited to have the presence of dance in the College of Fine Arts."
The Music Therapy program is offered as a collaborative effort with UK Healthcare.
The MA in Arts Administration was the first totally online program in CFA, and the first online Arts Administration graduate program at a public University in the U.S.
Previously under the Office of the Provost, the UK Art Museum is moved into the College of Fine Arts.
Several years prior, UK began exploring a number of options to rehabilitate Reynolds Building No. 1 that housed instructional areas in Art and Visual Studies. This process was made necessary due to significant structural problems in the aging former warehouse. The "University Lofts" property, as it was called, on Bolivar Street was identified as a suitable facility that would not only meet the needs of the institution's art students, faculty, and staff but would also save money in necessary renovations to Reynolds Building No. 1.
The SA/VS building has two wings: the west wing, built in 1917, is a two story structure with a central axis lit by skylights. It features glass-walled art studios and spaces for all types of media interaction and exploration among its high ceilings, wide passageways and lovely light. Among these is the Hazel True Haunsz Fiber Studio, where students produce work in all manner of fiber-related materials, processes, and mixed media. The original east wing built in 1899 is a four-story structure that houses the administrative offices, the gallery, faculty and student studios, and a 21st-century research laboratory in which state-of-the art digital media labs are in close proximity to a multipurpose 3-D fabrication lab, a photography suite, and a print media shop.
The Interdisciplinary program is a collaboration between the Department of Theatre and Dance and the School of Music.
All Voice faculty and Opera Theatre staff relocate from the Fine Arts Building.
UK's newest academic facility, the Art and Visual Studies Building, replaces Reynolds Building Number 1, where UK art studio students and faculty worked for more than 40 years in what was originally meant to be temporary space. The art studio program joins the art education and art history and visual studies programs in a new integrated studio/classroom environment designed to encourage collaborative innovation in the visual arts.
The Department of Arts Administration at UK is the first, and still only, academic department dedicated exclusively to the study of arts administration in the United States.
Holmes Hall is named after Sarah Bennett Holmes, UK’s dean of women from 1942-1957. Students living in the Creative Arts LLP have access to rooms for group interaction/collaboration as well as spaces for the individual creative process.
A dance minor in the Department of Theatre and Dance was implemented six years ago and has grown from six to 70 students since the program opened its studio doors. In addition, the UK Dance Program has achieved national and international recognition and awards for its student and faculty choreography and performance at festivals and conferences each year since its inception.
A graduate of Iowa State (BA-Theatre, Political Science) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (MA-Theatre Design and Technology), Mark Shanda has brought extensive change and excitement to the College of Fine Arts since the beginning of his deanship in 2017. From his first performance as Little John in Robin Hood when he was in third grade, Shanda has had an affinity for the theatre. Later focusing more on the behind the scenes work that makes a show run, Dean Shanda has been doing the same for CFA, working both behind the scenes and in the spotlight to bring the college to life.
Before coming to UK, Dean Shanda worked in Madison at his alma mater, as well as at the Madison Opera Company, before an extensive 31 year career at the Ohio State University, where he was chair of the Theatre Department and the Dean of Arts and Humanities. Shanda joined UK in the fall of 2017.
Dean Shanda loves being at UK due to the talent of his faculty, as well as the extensive opportunities offered to his students. He believes that our talented faculty allows for a more comprehensive fine arts education, which he highly values. Being Dean has also given Shanda a greater appreciation for the breadth and depth of musicians, student exploration through the School of Visual Arts and Studies, and modern dance.
Throughout his time here at UK, Dean Shanda has brought many changes to the college, largely focusing on the college being comprehensive, rather than 6 units working independently. Along with that, multiple new degrees and programs have been made available, such as digital composition, recording and audio engineering, film and sonic arts, and an online PhD in arts administration.
Outside of being Dean, Shanda enjoys reading, particularly biographies and business literature, as well as being active within his church community. He regrets that he doesn’t have the opportunity to participate in theatre productions as often as he used to. Instead, he makes a point to attend as many arts events as possible, continuing to support his students and faculty.
Beginning in the fall of 2020, the new Ph.D. will be the first completely online doctoral program in arts administration offered in the United States. The 46-credit hour graduate degree is designed to bring a new skillset to organizations focused on arts and cultural production including state and local arts councils; federal, state and local government agencies; academic institutions; large arts organizations; economic and community development organizations; and thinktanks.
The Department also launched an online graduate certificate in Fundraising and Development the same year.
The first cancelled CFA event was March 12, 2020 and many more cancellations would follow. However the college also pivoted into live streamed concerts, podcasts, socially distanced events, and many other small ways to keep our community artistically fed through quarantine.
After supporting the college as patrons and philanthropists for over 30 years, Ben Kaufmann and Janet Zusman pledged a $6.6 million dollar deferred gift to benefit the Orchestra, Choral, and Opera Programs in the School of Music.
The Bill Gatton Foundation’s $150 million gift — one of the largest in UK’s history — will create a new home for the arts at the University of Kentucky. The project includes a new College of Fine Arts building, a modern performance theater, and public greenspace that will anchor a growing arts and innovation corridor along South Broadway.
