RADFORD – Radford University has appointed Rachel Marie-Crane Williams, Ph.D., as dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), effective July 10.
Williams brings extensive experience as an interdisciplinary arts scholar and administrator to Radford and has spent her entire academic career at public universities. Her areas of expertise include educational policy, conflict resolution, research, pedagogy and curriculum development.
“My passion for public education and the arts stems from the transformative arts education I received as a student, which was an experience that enriched my life immeasurably,” Williams says. “The arts create pathways to profound personal fulfillment, they are an economic engine for communities, and they help us celebrate all the creative and communal possibilities within humanity. I’m particularly inspired by Radford’s exceptional community of dedicated faculty, talented staff, and passionate students who share this commitment to artistic and academic excellence and growth.”
Since June of 2022, Williams has served as dean of the Division of Liberal Arts at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, leading a division which provides general education for undergraduates at the Winston-Salem based institution. In 2023, Williams partnered with the UNSCA library to launch the Textbook Affordability Program, an initiative that saved students over $44,000 in its pilot year and was a focal point of the school’s spring 2024 giving campaign. Prior to UNCSA, Williams spent 23 years at the University of Iowa (1999-2022) in roles that included four years as chair of the Department of Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies, three years as the university ombudsperson in the office of the president and 11 years as a dual-appointed associate professor.
An area of focus in Williams’ scholarly research has been women in prison, and she has worked with incarcerated women as an artist, scholar and teacher since 1994. American alternative/single creator comics and graphic novels have been a focus of her creative scholarship. Her current research focuses on intersecting systems of oppression, gender, race, sexuality and arts-based research.
“Rachel is a dynamic, highly-regarded individual with expertise in studio arts, a track record of successful leadership and fundraising, and a deep understanding of interdisciplinary breadth – traits that are perfectly suited for this role,” says Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Bethany Usher. “At Radford University, we believe that the arts should create engagement with our community and make this a great place to live. Rachel is ready to step in and help us strengthen our connections through CVPA’s programming and initiatives.”
Williams’ writing appears in Southern Cultures, Meridians, the Journal of Arts Management Law and Society, The Journal of Poetry Therapy, Feminist Studies, and Visual Arts Research. She is also the author of “Teaching the Arts Behind Bars” (Northeastern U. Press, 2003); “Elegy for Mary Turner: An Illustrated Account of a Lynching” (Verso Press, 2021); and “Run Home If You Don’t Want to Be Killed: The Detroit Uprising of 1943” (UNC Press/ Duke Center for Documentary Studies, 2021).
Williams received a B.F.A. in painting and drawing from East Carolina University, and a Ph.D. in art education and an M.F.A. in studio art from Florida State University.
Radford University
