Board of Directors Election
2011 Candidates
dele jegede, Miami University
dele jegede, professor of art in the Department of Art at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio
Statement: I am honored for the nomination to serve on the CAA Board of Directors. I first became acquainted with the association as a graduate student at Indiana University late last century. As an international student who was on leave of absence as a faculty member at the University of Lagos in Nigeria, I was immensely fascinated—stupefied indeed—by the gathering of artists and scholars that CAA, this behemoth of an association, had convened. If I am given the privilege, I will work assiduously toward the internationalization of CAA’s programs. In an age of globalization and technology, expanding the influence of CAA as a dominant global force remains an appealing challenge.
Those of us who are CAA members are perhaps wont to take the regenerative capacity of the association for granted. Given the traumatic budgetary experience of many institutions, particularly in the last two years, it is imperative for CAA to prosecute a viable campaign that will give it a sound and flexible financial platform from which to implement its 2010–2015 Strategic Plan. I will commit my time and dedicate my energy toward implementing the goals enshrined in the plan, one of which pertains to the development of “a progressive campaign to reach potential new members, with particular attention to artists and designers.” Although I mutter a quiet demurral to myself at the omission of art historians under this goal, no doubt because of what I perceived, inaccurately I suspect, as an unintended slight on my academic tribe, I am nevertheless thrilled at the prospect of working with colleagues on the board to expand the association’s membership. In this regard, I am interested in bringing our collective weight to bear on issues of diversity, inclusiveness, the internationalization of the program, and, inferentially, the profile of CAA. The excitement that my first participation at CAA generated remains forever fresh in my memory. A student’s first attendance at the conference is most likely to leave such a student with an indelible impression.
How then do we sustain the interest of students in the association? How do we spark their imagination and inspire them to become lifelong members, regardless of their station on the globe? It is the responsibility of CAA’s leadership to grapple with these and other issues. Based on my personal experience as one who taught for twelve years at Indiana State University, the last three of which I served as chair, and as one who just completed a five-year term as chair at my current institution (Miami University in Oxford, Ohio), I believe that the board’s ability to capture and retain the interest of students is an achievable task.
In 1993, CAA published the “Directory of People of Color in the Visual Arts,” a publication that I cherish not only for the selfish reason that I made the list but also for its enduring value as archival material that cultivates the attention of a particular demographic. As CAA embarks on its Centennial, it seems apt that it should mobilize people and resources, including technology, in pursuing its plan of remaining the primary gateway for professionals of diverse statuses in divergent stations. I have the experience at the academic and professional levels, including serving in the mid-1990s as president of an affiliated association—the Arts Council of the African Studies Association—and an ongoing service at the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.
I am gratified at being given this opportunity and, if elected, will serve to the best of my ability.
Biography: dele jegede is an art historian, teacher, painter, art critic, cartoonist, and administrator. He earned his MA and PhD degrees in art history at Indiana University in Bloomington, where he studied with Roy Sieber. He obtained his first degree in fine art (painting) from the Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria. Since the seventies, jegede has taught in diverse environments and served in academic, professional, and leadership capacities locally and internationally. He was a Fulbright scholar at Spelman College (1987); director of the Center for Cultural Studies at the University of Lagos (1989–92); president of the Society of Nigerian Artists (1989–92); senior postdoctoral fellow at the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution (1995); president of the Arts Council of the African Studies Association (1996–98); professor and chair in the Department of Art at Indiana State University (2002–5; interim chair, 2001–2); and chair of the Department of Art at Miami University (2005–10).
In 2000, he curated two major exhibitions. Contemporary African Art: Five Artists, Diverse Trends opened at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, while Women to Women: Weaving Cultures, Shaping History was held at the University Gallery, Indiana State University. Catalogues accompanied both exhibitions. He has published several articles and contributed several chapters to books on African art and culture, including Patrick McNaughton’s innovative CD-ROM, Five Windows into Africa (2000). His recent book, Encyclopedia of African American Artists, was published by Greenwood in 2009. As a teacher, jegede has developed and taught courses in African and African American art, and his pedagogical approach promotes experiential, cooptive, and hands-on learning.
Until 2010, he served on the board of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and remains active on the association’s visitation assignments.
Video
dele jegede did not wish to submit a video.
How to Vote
If you have not opted to vote online, you will receive a paper ballot in the mail. If you have chosen to vote online, please log into your CAA account with your Member ID and password. Click the Vote Now link to begin the process. You may vote for up to four candidates, including one write-in candidate. Ballots with more than four candidates indicated will be void. No ballot received after 5:30 PM (EST) on Friday, February 11, 2011, will be accepted.
