1.26.17 – Leslie Bellavance

Leslie Bellavance was named President of Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University in July of 2015. She concurrently holds the office of Vice President of Ferris State University. She previously served as Dean of the School of Art and Design in the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and before that as a professor of art and the Director of the School of Art and Art History at James Madison University in Virginia. She was also a member of the faculty of the Department of Visual Art in the Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her work has been widely exhibited in the United States and Europe. She was awarded a residency for her book, analemmic, which was published by Nexus Press in Atlanta, Georgia. President Bellavance has also been active in program development and as a curator for alternative art centers such as West Hubbard Gallery in Chicago, Woodland Pattern Book Center in Milwaukee, and the Walker’s Point Art Center in Milwaukee. She has written and lectured extensively on contemporary art. Her articles, essays, and reviews have been published in such journals as Sculpture Magazine, Art Papers, and The New Art Examiner.

President Bellavance currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and as a member of the Executive Board of the National Council of Arts Administrators (NCAA). She served for four years on the Board of Directors for the College Art Association (CAA).

President Bellavance received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Chicago, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia.