• Allyson Vanstone has been tapped as the new dean of VCU School of the Arts in Qatar. After completing a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Communication Design, Allyson began a sixteen year commitment to design and education. She was on the faculty of York University and Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, where she advanced to dean. Allyson later headed the Communication Technology Program at Dubai's Woman's College. She replaces former dean Christine Lindholm at VCU School of the Arts in Qatar.

• Sheila Blair, who shares the Hamad Bin Khalifa Endowed Chair of Islamic Art with Jonathan Bloom, has won the 2007 British-Kuwait Friendship Society/British Society of Middle Eastern Studies Prize for the best book on Middle Eastern Studies published in the UK for her book Islamic Calligraphy. Sheila is the first person to have won the prize for a second time: her 1998 book Islamic Inscriptions was awarded the prize in 1999. Sheila is an organizer Rivers of Paradise, the Hamad Bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art, November 4-6, 2007 in Doha, Qatar.

• Kinetic Imaging assistant professor Semi Ryu, in addition to having twins, was invited to speak about contemporary transition of Asian thought in new media and technology at the First International Art Tech Media Congress in Madrid, Spain. In addition, her project, "CoPuppet: Collaborative Interaction in Virtual Puppetry” was presented in Digital Art Weeks Symposium, in Zurich, Switzerland this month. As if all this weren't enough, her 3D animation projects will be screened in Barcelona in September.

• The work of Michael Jones McKean, assistant professor in the Department of Sculpture + Extended Media, is featured extensively in July/August issue of Art Papers.

• Jazz piano alumnus Daniel Clarke is on the road touring with pop vocalist Mandy Moore this summer. He, drummer Brian Jones, and bassist Stewart Myers served as the rhythm section for her new CD "Wild Hope," which debuted in late June. Read more here

• Casey Longyear has opened up Rumors Boutique just steps away from where she studied in the Department of Fashion and Merchandising. The 2006 Fashion Merchandising graduate’s store on Harrison Street offers trendy, independent fashion lines.

• VCUarts showcases the work of recent MFA alumni in New York.
- Kim Foster Gallery presents More Fresh Meat featuring works by recent grads from the Department of Sculpture and Extended Media. 529 West 20th Arts Building Ground Floor. Opening Reception June 16th, 6-8pm. Runs through July 28.

• The VCU trumpet ensemble, led by Rex Richardson, recently performed at the International Trumpet Guild Conference. Only eighteen student trumpet ensembles from around the world were given slots to perform at the 2007 conference. Our talented and hardworking trumpeters were: Cole Baty, Eric Blanks, Jared Broussard, Rob Quallich, Alex Samawicz, and Matt Wittig.

• In addition to the recently aired Craft in America special on PBS, the web site for the series features two Craft/Material Studies alumni, Kiara Pelissier, '06 MFA and Arthur Hash, '01 BFA. Kiara and Arthur are both VCUarts adjunct professors. Professor and jewelry maker Susie Ganch has her work included in the accompanying travelling exhibition. Susie's work was extremely popular at the Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art exposition at the Armory in NYC recently, and was represented by two highly-regarded galleries, Snyderman-Works and Sienna Gallery.

• L. Wayne Batty, the longest-serving faculty member at VCU and Virginia’s longest-serving employee, is retiring from the Department of Music after 58 years. Read more about it in the Richmond Times-Dispatch article.

• Recent Accolades in the Department of Craft/Material Studies:

- James Kearns MFA 07, Kazue Taguchi MFA 07 and Sarah Mizer MFA 07 were 3 of 6 selected up-and-coming stars for the Reynolds Gallery exhibit that opens June 1.

- Nanda Soderberg, MFA 07, has been accepted into New Art Examined III. Ten MFA graduates from the Mid-atlantic states will exhibit work at the Arlington Arts Center in Virginia from June 5 through July 2.

- Kazue Taguchi MFA 07, has been offered yet another international solo exhibit for the fall of 2007. This one is in Spain at the Museo de Arte en Vidrio de Alcorcon.

• Kinetic Imaging Assistant Professor, Stephen Vitiello, was commissioned by United Technologies Corporation to present The Smallest of Wings (2005-2007) at the Broadgate Arena in London, England. This multi-channel sound installation, which ran June 4 through 8, juxtaposed the beating of moth wings, recorded in upstate New York, with the buzzing of humming birds, recorded in the Brazilian Amazon, to create a richly textured environmental experience.