Elissa Tenny (born 1953) is an American academic and educator and the current President of the
School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). The 15th president, she is the first woman to head the school.
Founded in 1866, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a top-ranked art and design college and was named the "most influential art school in the United States" in Columbia University's Art Critics National Arts Journalism Survey.
Tenny received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from
Stockton University
Stockton University is a public university in Galloway Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. It is named for Richard Stockton, one of the New Jersey signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence ...
in 1975, a Master of Arts in Media Studies from
The New School
The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
in 1977, and a Doctor of Education from the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
in 2007. She started her career in education while attending the New School, eventually holding positions of Acting Dean (1998–2001) and Vice Dean (2001–02).
From 2002 to 2010, she was Provost and Dean at
Bennington College
Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...
, joining SAIC as Provost in 2010, where she served until being named president in 2016.
References
Living people
1953 births
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