MCAD President Sanjit Sethi is pleased to announce the hiring of Robert Ransick as Vice President of Academic Affairs. As of July 1, Ransick will replace retiring Vice President Karen Wirth, who began her career at MCAD in the early 1990s and also served as interim president for the 2018-2019 academic year. “With Robert’s commitment to collaboration and equity, he brings a unique vision to art and design education. His focus on innovative programming, entrepreneurship, and public action make him an ideal choice as the next chief academic officer for MCAD,” states Sethi. An artist, designer and educator, Ransick most recently served as a member of the visual arts faculty, founding director of the MFA in Public Action, and director of the art and entrepreneurship programs at Bennington College’s Center for the Advancement of Public Action. As a teacher for nearly twenty-five years at Bennington College, The New School, Parsons School of Design and the School of Visual Arts, Ransick is known for developing innovative courses in social and civic engaged practices, technology and the arts, social entrepreneurship and new forms of democratic leadership. Ransick served in leadership positions including Director of the Photography Department, Acting Director of the Computer Instruction Center, and Coordinator of Distance Learning at The New School in New York. He also served as Chief Technology Officer of Up Homes, a modern manufacturer of modular and sustainable homes. His creative work has been exhibited in venues including Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology, Exit Art, Storefront for Art and Architecture, The New Museum, the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, Italy, and at the border of the United States and Mexico. He has received funding from Franklin Furnace, the Mellon Foundation, the Boomerang Fund for Artists and the National Performance Network/Visual Artists Network. He was an artist in residence at Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology and LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions). He holds a BFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts, MA in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research, and MBA in Sustainability from Bard College. “I am honored to join MCAD with its long history of excellence in art and design education. In these complex times, it has never been more relevant for artists and designers to lead the world in creatively imagining and realizing a future that is more equitable, just and resilient,” states Ransick. He and his husband, architect Blake Goble, will be moving to Minneapolis this June. About MCAD Since 1886, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design—a private, nonprofit four-year and postgraduate college—has been the preeminent art and design educator in the region. Today MCAD is a strong national leader in fine arts, design, entrepreneurship, and sustainability education. Through degree programs, continuing education courses, exhibitions, and a number of other community programs and events, MCAD transforms the world through creativity and purpose. PDF VERSION OF PRESS RELEASE