Jill Beck (born 1949) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

, administrator and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. She served as the 15th president of

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second college in the U.S. to be founded as a coeducation ...

from July 2004 to 2013. On February 2, 2012, Beck announced her intention to retire, and was succeeded by Mark Burstein.

Early life and education

A native of

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, Beck received a B.A. in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

from

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...

, an M.A. in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

and

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, and a Ph.D. in theatre history and criticism from the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

Career

As dean of the School of the Arts at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...

from 1995 to 2003, she instituted a strategic planning process and led a capital campaign that contributed to the school's endowment, facilities, educational mission, and outreach activities. Under her leadership, the school was named the

Claire Trevor School of the Arts The Claire Trevor School of the Arts (CTSA, Claire Trevor) is an faculty (division), academic unit at the University of California, Irvine, focused on the performing arts, performing and visual arts. The four departments housed in the school ar ...

and undergraduate applications increased by more than 70 percent over four years. During her tenure as dean, Beck founded the

ArtsBridge ArtsBridge is a university scholarship program in the United States created by Lawrence University president Jill Beck in April 1996 when she was dean of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California, Irvine The University ...

outreach program in art education, with professor

Keith Fowler Keith Franklin Fowler (born February 23, 1939) is an American actor, director, producer, and educator. He is a professor emeritus of drama and former head of directing in the Drama Department of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts of the Univers ...

as its initial administrative director. Now named ArtsBridge America, the program is an arts partnership between universities and the K-12 community. The program offers hands-on experiences in the arts to school-age children, placing university students in K-12 classrooms as instructors and mentors. Beck also established the da Vinci Research Center for Learning Through the Arts, an interdisciplinary center for research focused on learning across disciplines. In 2000, Beck co-chaired an international conference entitled "Sciences for the Arts: Building a Coalition for Arts Education" that brought psychological and medical researchers together with artists and art educators. Beck is both a scholar and a practitioner of dance and choreography and has written in the fields of dance history, theory, repertory, and technique, as well as directed ballet and modern dance repertory. In addition to holding an appointment as professor of dance at UCI, she has taught at the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

and the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

. Beck was a founding member of the Alliance of Dance Notation Educators.

Recognition

Beck is a recipient of the Disney Corporation's Jack Linquist Award for Innovation, the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

Clara Barton Award The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

for humanitarian service in the arts, and the University of California, Irvine, Medal, the university's highest honor, for "visionary leadership in building community."

Personal life

Beck is married to Robert J. Beck.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Jill 1949 births Living people Clark University alumni McGill University School of Music alumni Presidents of Lawrence University City College of New York faculty