Conference Organizers
Dr. Judith Burton is Professor and Director of Art and Art Education, Columbia University Teachers College. Before that she was Chair of Art Education of Boston University and taught at the Massachusetts College of Art. She received her Ed. D. from Harvard University in 1980. Her research focuses on the artistic-aesthetic development of children and adolescents and the implications this has for teaching and learning. In 1995 co-founded the Center for Research in Arts Education at Teachers College, and in 1996, she founded the Heritage School a comprehensive high school featuring the arts, located in Harlem, NYC. She is author of numerous articles and chapters and currently has three books in process of publication: She received the Manuel Barkan Award for excellence in research writing, and the Lowenfeld Award for lifetime achievement in art education from NAEA. Dr, Burton is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts in Great Britain, a Distinguished Fellow of the NAEA, and serves as Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts Beijing, China. She is also a Trustee of the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD.
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Dr. Ami Kantawala serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Art and Art Education Program at Teachers College, Columbia University since 2007. She also served as a full-time Lecturer and Program Manager in the Arts Administration Program at Teachers College from 2011-13. She completed her BFA in Painting and Metal craft at Sir J. J. School of Applied Art in Bombay, India, and went on to complete her Ed.M. and Ed.D. in Art Education at Teachers College in 2007. Her dissertation research on art education in colonial India was funded by the Dean's Grant for student research and Spenser Foundation Research Training Grant at Teachers College. She completed an extensive training program in Leadership in Higher Education from HERS Wellesley Institute in 2012-13.
At Teachers College, she has pioneered coursework on the History of Art Education through a unique visual studies lens.Her research intersects historical methods, cultural studies, postcolonial theory, higher education leadership, and mentoring. Dr. Kantawala has presented papers at various national conferences held by the National Art Education Association, College Art Association, American Education Research Association and History of Education Society. She has published articles in research journals such as Visual Arts Research , Studies in Art Education , and the International Journal of Art and Design Education. She recently guest edited two special issues titled, “Critical re-framing of art education histories” and “Insightful and Creative Leadership within Arts Education: History, Challenges, Opportunities, and Practices” for the Journal of Visual Inquiry (Intellect Publishers). Her current research project includes documenting the learning and teaching experiences of artist-teacher Mabel D’Amico (1909-1999) and this research is funded by the National Art Education Association Foundation (NAEF). Dr. Kantawala also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Visual Inquiry: Learning and Teaching Art, Studies in Art Education, Journal of Social Theory in Art Education and serves as a reviewer for Canadian Review of Research.
Geneva Robinson has nine years of experience in language education, teaching Latin, English literature, and ELL in New England, New York, and abroad. She graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. in Latin and earned an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from Teachers College, Columbia University. Robinson also has wide-ranging experience in the logistics of academia, having worked on a variety of publications, conferences, and events at both Wellesley and TC. She currently resides in Portland, Maine, teaches Latin at a local high school, and enjoys the simplicities of life downeast.