NCAA welcomes new board members:

Mariah DorenRhode Island School of Design
Sandra Murchinson / Eastern Michigan University
Jenn Gardner SelbyRowan-Cabarrus Community College

 

 

Sandra Murchison Bio

Professor Sandra Murchison is currently the Director of the School of Art & Design at Eastern Michigan University. Prior to EMU, she taught at Millsaps College, serving as the Chair of the Art Department and she founded a non-profit arts center off campus in Jackson, Mississippi. An active member of SGC International, she served first as Archivist and then Vice President for Internal Affairs of the organization.  Apart from her duties as School Director, she is also the Director of the Parsons Center for Arts & Sciences, an offsite campus in northern Michigan.  

Murchison aims to do meaningful work through artistic means, careful stewardship in administrative responsibilities, and service in the community. Her mixed media prints and paintings have shown internationally, and she has been an invited visiting artist at institutions across this country. In addition, she has taught at such places as the Center for Contemporary Printmaking and Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts. Sandra Murchison received the Millsaps College Distinguished Professor Award in 2013 and was a finalist for the Joan Mitchell Foundation grant for painters. Her work as an administrator has garnished multiple grants from the Windgate Foundation and the Horn Foundation. Murchison’s community volunteer work includes serving as the Chair-Elect of the Riverside Arts Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan. She received an MFA from Louisiana State University and a BFA from Alfred University with teaching certification. 

Sandra Murchison Statement
It is my intention to serve on the NCAA Board in order to do meaningful work. As such, I was pleased to be invited to serve this summer on the Fellows Committee to help decide on this year’s slate of Fellows. This type of membership work, in this case mentoring top emerging administrators, is exactly the kind of work that I would be most drawn to accomplish on the Board. Similarly, I am eager to participate in the conversation about the future growth, vitality, and purpose of NCAA. I hope that NCAA, an already service minded organization, will continue to develop into a more youthful, inclusive, and collaborative council. In all of this work, I strive to make a positive and worthwhile difference and look forward to participating with future NCAA initiatives.    

 











Mariah Doren Bio

Mariah has a Doctorate in the College Teaching of Art and Design from Columbia University, an MFA in photography from Pratt Institute, and a BA in Architecture and Urban Studies from Bryn Mawr College. She is Director of Program Planning and Development at Rhode Island School of Design, Continuing Education. She has also served as the Director of Assessment and Accreditation at RISD and Dean of Curriculum and Learning at Parsons School of Design. Her work is a mix of studio practice, research, and teaching, carefully woven and intermixed such that each component feeds and supports the others. Mariah has a studio practice based in photography that includes collage work combining printmaking, drawing, and photographs that have been part of recent exhibitions at the New Britain Museum of American Art and Site Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. Mariah’s writing centers on teaching, upcoming projects include a co-authored book titled Do We Have to Call it Critique? Reimagining the tradition: More inclusive, more fulfilling, and maybe a little more fun (Intellect Press-2022) and a chapter in Introduction to Design Education: Theory, Research, and Practical Applications for Educators by Steven Faerm (Rutledge 2022). She has run workshops and presented papers at the College Art Association, AICAD, and Digitally Engaged Learning. She teaches Collegiate Teaching Practicum at RISD and prior to this has taught courses on Pedagogy, Master’s Thesis, Photography, and Cross-disciplinary studio/seminar courses in art and design at Parsons, SUNY Purchase, SUNY Albany, Columbia University, and Central Michigan University. 

Mariah Doren Statement 
What I bring to the table is my commitment to education as a transformative experience to all who engage. I have held leadership roles that focus on the importance of curriculum, teaching, and learning for many years and would bring that disposition—that we are all here to learn and grow—to the role as board member. My experience in leadership, within degree programs (Parsons) and non-degree programs (RISD) have required me to think hard about the future of education and I am excited to be a part of these emergent conversations. I see the role of the NCAA as providing a platform for the exchange of knowledge around pressing issues in our field:  supporting teaching, developing equitable learning experiences for students, administrative initiatives (finesse), finances, and the future of education (the list might go on and on) and am excited to play my part in making this happen.

 

 

Jenn Gardner Selby Bio
Jenn Gardner Selby completed her MA in Fine Art Studio at Central Saint Martins (University of the Arts London) in 2003 with a specialization in Lens-Based Media. After teaching studio courses at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and Pfeiffer University, she joined the full-time visual arts faculty at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College in 2007. An advocate for equitable access to higher education in the visual arts, she was charged with establishing a two-year visual arts foundations program and securing university transfer relationships to serve community college students.  

In 2009 the Associate in Fine Arts (AFA) in Visual Arts degree was established, and in 2010 Jenn was appointed the Associate Chair of the Department of Humanities & Fine Arts. In 2012 she founded the North Carolina AFA Association, which brought together faculty from NC’s universities, independent colleges, and community colleges. Ten years later the association has over 275 members and hosts an annual conference. Through the association faculty have worked together to establish binding statewide transfer policy, implement curricular improvement projects, and provide professional development opportunities. 

By 2013 Jenn was appointed Chair of the Department of Art & Design. In 2019 the Department of Art & Design was awarded a $55,000 grant by Z.Smith Reynolds for the inclusive public art project, Here’s My Story. Jenn currently serves as the Chair of the Department of Art & Design and as Executive Director of Transfer and University Partnerships. She was appointed by the NC Community College System Office to the Transfer Advisory Committee (TAC). She serves on the NC Museum of Art College Advisory Board and as the Past-President of the NC AFA Association.


Jenn Gardner Selby Statement
As an administrator who has chosen to serve within the community college environment, I am reminded daily of the need for advocacy, equity, and access across higher education. I am passionate about the abilities of students who want to pursue visual arts, no matter their background, identity, status, or family history. Promoting strong collaboration across differences is one of my abilities and areas of focus as a leader – it is in that collaboration that I believe we strengthen one other and establish a more transparent and just world. As a Board member I would commit to growing and diversifying membership in the NCAA, with specific focus on two-year institutions. Supporting the needs of members and the current and future goals of the NCAA, especially in light of the impact of the pandemic, would be a top priority. During my eleven years in arts administration, I have embraced openness, innovation, and respect as guiding values; and as the founder of a statewide association and annual conference I have experience bringing people together. The NCAA has provided incredible resources, relationships, and opportunities that have helped me throughout my career. It would be an honor to give back and support the needs of arts administrators from across the country as a Board member.