ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – Karen Oremus, chair of Winthrop University’s Department of Fine Arts, has been named interim dean of the university’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, effective July 1.
Former College Dean Jeff Bellantoni accepted the position of dean of the School of Media, Culture, and Design at Woodbury University in Burbank, California.
Provost Adrienne McCormick said Oremus has substantial administrative experience that aligns with the role, responsibilities and high standards expected of a senior administrator at Winthrop. “Karen has provided steady leadership to the Department of Fine Arts since her arrival in 2018,” McCormick said. “Her leadership qualities, involvement in international education and accreditation, experience with program building and assessment, fundraising, and community engagement all provide her with the significant expertise, demonstrable skills and vision needed to lead the college in the role as interim dean.”
Oremus earned tenure and was promoted to professor in Winthrop’s Department of Fine Arts. In addition to her current role as chair of the Department of Fine Arts, Oremus served as interim chair of the Department of Design from 2019-20.
Thrilled for the opportunity, Oremus said that one of the things that she has enjoyed most in her positions at Winthrop was engendering a positive and productive work environment and building a solid family of faculty and staff in the department and college.
Throughout her career, Oremus has worked as an artist, curator, and educator internationally in Australia, Canada, the United States, Italy, England, Germany, China, Estonia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Japan, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Middle East.
She received her B.F.A. in printmaking with a minor in Roman archaeology at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. She studied painting and printmaking at the Academia di Belli Arte di Roma (Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, Italy) and completed her archaeological field school at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England. She graduated with an M.F.A. in printmaking from the Tyler School of Art of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Prior to joining Winthrop, Oremus worked for 15 years as an associate professor, chair, assistant dean, and interim dean in the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates, where she was responsible for the establishment and development of the first printmaking studio and printmaking discipline in the nation's capital on the Abu Dhabi campus and contributed to the establishment of the college.
