School of FIne Arts

KU Music & Dance alumna awarded scholarship to attend Royal Scottish Academy

Leah Hamilton, a KU Music and Dance graduate, was recently awarded a $25,000 Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship to attend the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland, where she will pursue a postgraduate degree in vocal performance. Hamilton was nominated for this scholarship by the Rotary Club of Springfield, Missouri.

Hamilton graduated from Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Missouri, in 2000. She went on to receive her bachelor of music degree from the University of Kansas in 2004, where she studied with voice professors Pamela Hinchman and Dr. Genaro Mendez. Read More.

KU School of Fine Arts welcomes the International Institute for Young Musicians Summer Music Academy

KU’s School of Fine Arts welcomed the International Institute for Young Musicians (IIYM) Summer Music Academy to Lawrence for another year of student music study and competition.   IIYM, led by Dr. Scott McBride Smith, is an internationally recognized course of study for young pianists and string players from around the world.

Smith, who has a Master’s Degree in Piano from KU, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of IIYM. He created the IIYM organization in 1990 to provide music study opportunities for young musicians from around the world.   During the summer program, students are exposed to intensive study to improve their mastery of performance, and these students spend time practicing and performing recitals, working with IIYM artist faculty. Read More.

KU School of Fine Arts announces appointment of new design faculty

The KU Department of Design announces the appointments of Michael Eckersley as Professor of Interaction Design, and Mahbub Rashid as Associate Professor of Interior Design. Their appointments will start in August.

Eckersley earned a Bachelor’s degree in Art at Weber State University, a Master’s in Fine Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, and his EdD in Design Education/Cognitive Science at Ball State University.

Eckersley has applied his fine arts education and skills to his expansive experience as a designer, researcher, educator and consultant. He is currently Principal at HumanCentered, a design research and consultation company in Salt Lake City, Utah. Before working at HumanCentered, Eckersley worked as Design Strategy Director and Creative Director with Sybase/Financial Fusion in Boston. Eckersley was also Managing Partner of his own design consulting company, Eckersley Associates, for seven years in Salt Lake City.

Rashid earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, his Master of Science degree in Architecture Studies from MIT and his PhD in Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Rashid is an architect who applies structural theory and technique to design and research. For the past few years, he worked as Research Scientist at Georgia Tech’s College of Architecture. Rashid also served as a staff architect at Cooper Carry, Inc., a firm in Atlanta, Georgia, and has worked as an architect in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Read More about Michael Eckersly and Mahbub Rashid.

Visit the School of Fine Arts website for more information.