John Crawford, recently appointed

dean of the College of the Arts,

wants to continue expanding and

renovating the college.

Crawford, who served as the

interim dean for the College of the

Arts before officially being named

dean last Friday, said he wants “to

continue our work to be known

as a nationally and internationally

prominent center for the arts.”

“After a competitive national

search, it is clear Kent State is fortunate

to benefit from Dr. Crawford’s

fine leadership of the College of the

Arts,” Provost

Robert Frank

said in a statement.

“We look

forward to the

continued success

of the college, its

faculty and most

importantly, its

students under

his guidance.”

As the official dean of the College

of the Arts, Crawford will

oversee all the art divisions, which

include the schools of Art, Theatre

and Dance, Fashion Design and

Merchandising and Music. He will

also be in charge of the university

museum.

“It’s an exciting time for the College

of the Arts,” Crawford said.

“There are a lot of things happening.

It’s a real transformative time.”

Crawford said the School of

Theatre and Dance will move to the

Music and Speech Center during

the summer after the completion of

the Roe Green Center, an expansive

addition to the building. Crawford

also plans to seek funding for a renovation

and expansion of the School

of Music, and to develop a graduate

program for the School of Fashion

Design and Merchandising.

“We expect to see in the future a

new building for the School of Art

because their programs are spread

out over six different places on campus,”

Crawford said, in reference to

President Lester Lefton’s plans for

renovations around campus. “A

new building for the School of Art

would bring them together.”

Crawford, who has been a part

of Kent State for 22 years, started as

part of the dance faculty and also

served as director of the School

of Theatre and Dance, producing

director of Porthouse Theatre and

associate dean for Graduate Affairs

in the College of the Arts.

“It’s an honor to be able to continue

in this role of dean of the College

of the Arts,” Crawford said.

“I have incredible colleagues and

wonderful school directors to work

with. It’s a really good team of people,

and I’m excited about the possibilities

ahead.”

Contact performing arts reporter

Kyle McDonald at