VCUQatar dean to leave in June 2015

Allyson Vanstone, dean of Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar (VCUQatar) since 2007, has announced that she will leave the university at the end of the academic year in June 2015.

During dean Vanstone’s tenure at VCUQatar, the university expanded its degree programmes to visual arts and art history and introduced the Master of Fine Arts degree to the Gulf region.

She has championed international and regional awareness of VCUQatar’s critical position as leaders in art and design education in the Middle East through the cumulative successes of faculty and student research, the university’s public programming, the Islamic Art Symposium, the biennial art and design conference - Tasmeem Doha, the Middle East Design Education Association and Tasmeem Journal, an open access, international design journal.

Under Vanstone’s leadership, the university established the Qatar House on the Virginia home campus; strengthened university partnerships with Qatar Foundation, Hamad bin Khalifa University and fellow branch campuses, Qatar Museums and many other local and regional collaborators; emphasised broadening community programmes to welcome children and Arabic learners; and oversaw the doubling of the university facilities and resources to support the expanded programmes and future needs of the university.

More recently, dean Vanstone initiated the development and implementation of VCUQatar’s new strategic plan to fulfil the university’s vision to strive to contribute to the vitality of human, social, economic and environmental development in Qatar and the region through creative innovation, expression and collaboration.

“I believe in the critical work that we undertake each day. At the greatest level, our work fulfils a deep commitment to building understanding across cultures through shared experiences. It is against this rewarding backdrop that I have shared my decision with Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts dean Joseph Seipel to conclude my role as dean of VCUQatar at the end of this academic year. I believe the timing is right for me personally and for the school. I am motivated and committed to my final year at VCUQatar to support our ongoing progress and ambitions,” said Vanstone. “I would like to thank Qatar Foundation for its continuous support, HH Sheika Moza bint Nasser for her visionary leadership and Dr Abdulla al-Thani, president of HBKU, for his unwavering support and guidance.”

“The contributions that dean Vanstone has made to VCUQatar are extraordinary,” said Seipel.

Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts plans to conduct an international search for Vanstone’s successor.