Marie Bukowski is the new director of 5X’s School of Art. Bukowski comes to Kent State from the School of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where she served as director for four years. She also was employed at the School of Art at Louisiana Tech University, where she held a variety of positions over the course of 13 years, including professor of art, graduate program coordinator and B.F.A. Studio program coordinator. Bukowski received her Master of Fine Arts with honors with a double degree in painting and printmaking in 2000 from the University of Pennsylvania and her B.F.A. in 1992 from Carnegie Mellon University, with a double major in painting and 19th-century German literature. In addition to her education in art, Bukowski speaks German and Polish, and has a love for mathematics, which is often reflected in her art making.
“We are thrilled to have Marie Bukowski join the College of the Arts as director of the School of Art,” says John R. Crawford-Spinelli, Ed.D., dean of Kent State’s College of the Arts. “Marie’s expertise, talent, knowledge and great interpersonal and administrative skills will be a wonderful asset to the school, college and university. We look forward to increased growth, development and collaborations.”
Bukowski is an internationally recognized printmaker who has had numerous solo, invitational, juried and group exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally. She has received eight artist-in-residence positions with prestigious institutions such as Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Anchor Graphics in Chicago, Illinois, the Frans Masereel Centrum in Kasterlee, Belgium, and Milkwood International in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic. She has received more than a dozen grants to support her work since 2002, including a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
“I am thrilled to be part of 5X and honored to be director of the School of Art,” Bukowski says. “I was impressed by a myriad of things during the interview process, such as the quality and diversity of the program offerings, and the fabulous new building to showcase each discipline’s strengths. But most importantly, I was impressed by the school’s greatest asset: its faculty. They are a talented, persevering, hardworking group of individuals who come together to offer the best education in the arts that I have seen. I am proud to be part of their team to lead them into the future.”
The School of Art, which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in art education, art history and eight studio art disciplines, welcomes Bukowski’s diverse experience to enrich the school’s already renowned program. Bukowski is coming to Kent State a year after the fully completed Center for the Visual Arts had its grand opening, which places the School of Art at an important stage in its growth. Students, faculty and staff welcome her and look forward to benefiting from her leadership and vision.