CHICAGO–The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), a global leader in art and design education, announced the appointment of Martin Berger as the School’s Dean of Faculty and Vice President of Academic Affairs. Berger comes to SAIC from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he most recently served as the Associate Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Associate Campus Diversity Officer for Faculty as well as Professor of the History of Art and Visual Culture.
Berger brings a depth of academic leadership experience to SAIC. Previously he was the Acting Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Acting Dean and Associate Dean of the Arts Division, Chair of the History of Art and Visual Culture Department, and founding Director of the Visual Studies graduate program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Prior to his tenure at Santa Cruz, Berger taught at the State University of New York, Northwestern University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, among other institutions.
Berger received his bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University, and master's and doctoral degrees from Yale University. He has extensive experience as a historian specializing in 19th- and 20th-century art and culture of the United States. His academic work has a particular focus on the construction of gender and race, which is well-suited to SAIC’s ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts described in the strategic plan, NEXT.
About the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
For more than 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program consistently ranking among the top programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago museum, on-campus galleries and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC’s undergraduate, graduate and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world—as seen through notable alumni and faculty such as Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Hunt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, Jeff Koons and LeRoy Neiman.
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