Statement from the School Review Committee Sent on Behalf of Reginald M. Browne

As Chairman of the School Review Committee of the Board, I write to the community of stakeholders for the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts to offer an update. The Committee was constituted last week, and our work has begun.

Our charge from Board Chairman Kevin Donohoe is to examine the College from the lens of our extensive range of community of alumni, graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, and staff. We are charged with presenting a substantive list of recommendations for meaningful and structural change to our College. Our work will build upon the content of and recommendations from the 2019 Belonging Report. We plan to conduct listening sessions with our alumni, students, faculty, and staff on the topic of structural change to collect various views on enhancements.

We are working toward presenting our final report to the Board of Trustees at the September 10, 2020 board meeting. Our stakeholder listening sessions will be announced once we finalize the engagement of a specialist firm with deep experience in Diversity, Inclusion and Equity and change management of academic and corporate institutions.

The committee members are as follows:

  • Reginald M. Browne, Trustee, Assistant Treasurer, Chair, School Review Committee, PAFA
  • Anne E. McCollum, Trustee, Vice Chair, Co-Chair, Development Committee, PAFA
  • Susan M. Hendrickson, Esq., Trustee, Secretary, PAFA
  • Theodore O. Rogers, Esq., Trustee, Chair, Human Resources Committee, PAFA
  • James O’Neill, Esq., Trustee, Chair, School Committee, PAFA
  • Emily Cavanagh, Trustee, Co-Chair, Collections Committee, PAFA
  • Charles E. Chase, Trustee, Chair, Building Committee, PAFA
  • Winston I. Lowe, Esq., Trustee, Chair, Public Education & Engagement Committee, PAFA
  • William Hankowsky, Trustee, Co-Chair, Development Committee, PAFA

In advance of our work and engagement with our community of stakeholders, the Committee has instituted a confidential email address to solicit constructive feedback from our PAFA community. You can send comments to schoolreview@pobox.pafa.edu. Comments and suggestions sent by this method are confidential.

Sincerely,

Reginald M. Browne
Chairman, School Review Committee

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July 13, 2020 - 1:06 PM

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About PAFA

Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is the United States’ first school and museum of fine arts. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, PAFA offers a world-class collection of American art, innovative exhibitions of historic and contemporary American art, and educational opportunities in the fine arts. The PAFA Museum aims to tell America's diverse story through art, expanding who has been included in the canon of art history through its collections, exhibitions, and public programs, while classes educate artists and appreciators with a deep understanding of traditions and the ability to challenge conventions. PAFA’s esteemed alumni include Mary Cassatt, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, William Glackens, Barkley L. Hendricks, Violet Oakley, Louis Kahn, David Lynch, and Henry Ossawa Tanner.