GVSU Art & Design has new chair

Following a national search, Virginia (Jinny) Jenkins has been hired as the new chair of the Department of Art & Design at Grand Valley State University.

Jenkins brings more than 30 years of experience in higher education, most recently, for the past three years as head of the Department of Art & Design at the University of Minnesota Duluth, and at the University of Northern Colorado, where she taught for 19 years and served as chair of the Visual Arts Department for six years.

“The joke in Duluth is that I was moving to a warmer climate,” said Jenkins, “but as a native of Bay City, I remember Michigan winters very well.”

Jenkins earned a B.F.A. from Michigan State University, an M.F.A. from the University of Utah and taught at Central Michigan University, among other colleges, while still keeping active as a painting and drawing artist.

“I have been very impressed with the faculty at Grand Valley and their true dedication to students,” said Jenkins. “I also believe in the importance of interdisciplinary and collaborative activities and see much evidence of that here.”

Jenkins hopes to draw also from her strong international experience, which includes helping establish a number of academic programs at Hong Kong Baptist University in China and coordinating collaborative projects with Baskent University in Ankara, Turkey.