There is a new face at the UF College of the Arts.
Anthony Kolenic began working as the college’s new assistant dean for research, technology and administrative affairs Jan. 5.
Kolenic, who previously served as associate director of Alliance for the Arts at Research Universities — a2ru — was interviewed on campus and chosen from the final three candidates.
The College of the Arts began looking for someone to fill the position at the beginning of the Fall semester after the past dean accepted a position at her alma mater, said Lucinda Lavelli, the dean of the college.
“We were looking for a very special skills set that included an understanding and appreciation of the arts, the ability to support the faculty in their research and programs,” Lavelli said. “His portfolio for this position is very broad.”
One of Kolenic’s biggest draws was his work with a2ru, a partnership of 31 universities, including UF, working to support interdisciplinary research, Lavelli said.
“It provided him an exceptional understanding of what’s going on in the arts and research universities of America,” she said.
Kolenic said he is looking forward to strengthening the different types of research at the college, including how the arts can impact other fields, he said.
“The thing that separates disciplines is not what they study, it’s how they study,” Kolenic said. “On the arts side, we have methods that allow us to reckon with ourselves and identities on the whole, as well as the world around us. It’s the same world; we’re looking at the same world, but we’re using different methods to ask different questions and find different answers (than other fields).”
Kolenic’s job as assistant dean for research will be to support faculty with research and manage faculty program applications and internal committees, Lavelli said.
“He is the support person for faculty, the way we have a support person for students,” she said.
Kolenic said he was drawn to UF’s international reputation.
“On top of that, the College of the Arts has a very strong profile in music, theatre, dance and art history, but it also has some great cutting-edge interdisciplinary centers,” he said. “The opportunity to help bring those bodies into their next stage and to work within the college was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 1/14/2015 under the headline “New College of the Arts dean looks to strengthen research"]
