Dr. Elisa Stephens, president of Academy of Art University, has been appointed to serve on the Smithsonian National Board beginning Oct. 1, 2014. Her appointment comes at the direction of the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents. “I am appreciative of this honor and opportunity to contribute to such an outstanding organization as the Smithsonian,” she said.
Dr. Stephens became president of the Academy of Art University in 1992, the third-generation Stephens to lead the university since its founding by her grandfather in 1929. Under her leadership, the Academy of Art University has become the largest private university of art and design in the United States, with approximately 18,000 undergraduate and graduate students on a unique urban campus in downtown San Francisco, and throughout the world online. Dr. Stephens has pioneered the creation of online education programs in art and design, which have propelled the Academy of Art University to its premiere position in the digital education world. The university’s comprehensive education program prepares today’s students for the art and design jobs of the 21st century innovation economy. The opportunities for highly skilled artists and designers exist in a global marketplace, of which San Francisco is a thriving center. A recent report found that the Academy of Art University, under the leadership of Dr. Stephens, “provides significant benefits to the San Francisco region” and “is a leader in developing talent to fuel the creative industries locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.”
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