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About the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture

The UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture (UCLA Arts) plays a vital role in the cultural and artistic life of the university and the communities that we serve. Our commitment to innovative education, pioneering research, dynamic public service, and community engagement is fueled by our unwavering belief in the fundamental value of creativity and the artist’s unique ability to shape the future and change the world. One of twelve prestigious professional schools at UCLA, UCLA Arts offers leading programs in four degree-granting departments: Architecture and Urban Design, Art, Design | Media Arts and World Arts and Cultures/Dance, and one school-wide minor, the Visual and Performing Arts Education program (VAPAE). Our internationally acclaimed museums—the Fowler and the Hammer—and groundbreaking performing arts program—the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA—provide a vibrant cultural commons that connects the public to the university—and the university to the broader community—through the vitality of the arts.

The UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles basin and So. Channel Islands). As a land grant institution, we pay our respects to the Honuukvetam (Ancestors), ‘Ahiihirom (Elders) and ‘Eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present and emerging.

Dean's Office

  • Brett Steele

    Dean

  • Lionel Popkin

    Associate Dean, Academic Affairs

  • Anya Booker

    Associate Dean and Executive Director, Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

  • Michael Chung

    Associate Dean, Administration

  • Anne Marie Burke

    Executive Director, Strategic Communications

  • Berivan Eisenhardt

    Executive Director, Development

  • Barry Cautivar

    Director, Staff Personnel

  • Linda Holmes

    Director, Operations and IT Services

  • Tiffany Long

    Senior Academic Personnel Analyst

  • Shantel Daniels

    Director, Office of Student Services

  • Ellen Hermann

    Chief Financial Officer

  • Laura Young

    Director, Enrollment Management

CHAIRS AND DIRECTORS

  • Mariana Ibañez

    Chair, Architecture and Urban Design

  • Catherine Opie

    Chair, Art

  • Rebeca Méndez

    Chair, Design | Media Arts

  • Jay O’Shea

    Chair, World Arts and Cultures / Dance

  • Brett Steele

    Interim Director, UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance

  • Silvia Forni

    Shirley & Ralph Shapiro Director, Fowler Museum

  • Ann Philbin

    Director, Hammer Museum

  • David Gere

    Director, Art & Global Health Center

  • Victoria Vesna

    Director, Art|Sci Center

  • Peter Sellars

    Director, Boethius Initiative 

  • Dana Cuff

    Director, cityLAB

  • Lauren Lee McCarthy, Chandler McWilliams, Casey Reas

    Co-Directors, Conditional Studio

  • Rebeca Méndez

    Director, Counterforce Lab

  • Cindy Burlingham

    Director, Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts

  • Eddo Stern

    Director, UCLA Game Lab

  • Kevin Kane

    Director, Visual and Performing Arts Education Program 

  • Hitoshi Abe

    Director, X-LAB

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE 2024 COMMENCEMENT COMMITTEE

Brett Steele, Committee Chair; Diana Alvarez, Anne Marie Burke, Tajairi Brown-Neuson, Kylie Carrigan,  Michael Chung, Shantel Daniels, Linda Holmes, Lionel Popkin, Giselle Velazquez