Lauren Lake, M.F.A., has been named chair of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Art and Art History.
Photo: W. Scott ChesterLake comes to UAB from the University of Florida School of Art and Art History, where she was assistant director, director of graduate programs, director of graduate studies-studio and head of the drawing area. She had been an associate professor there since 2002. Prior to that, she was assistant professor in the Beloit College Department of Art and Art History since 1998.
Lake earned her bachelor’s degree in art education from the University of Florida, and her master’s degree in fine arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition to many awards, grants, fellowships and exhibitions of her works, Lake was honored with the University of Florida Superior Accomplishment Award in 2013, which is given to staff in recognition of outstanding and meritorious service, efficiency and/or economy, or to the quality of life provided to students and employees.
“We welcome Lauren Lake to UAB as we reaffirm our commitment to the growth and development of the arts at UAB,” said College of Arts and Sciences Dean Robert Palazzo, Ph.D. “I am confident that her leadership skills and outstanding abilities will greatly enhance our already thriving Department of Art and Art History, and I look forward to its continued success and a new level of accomplishment for students and faculty with her at the helm.”
Lake said she is honored to have the opportunity to lead the Department of Art and Art History as the university enters an exciting period of change and reinvigoration for the arts in Birmingham and the region.
“My arrival builds upon the work of my predecessors to situate UAB as a place that promotes thinking broadly, creatively and critically while priding itself as a center for exchange, appreciation, collaboration and risk-taking in the arts,” Lake said. “By embracing this stimulating and dynamic environment through new initiatives such as the Abroms-Engle Institute for Visual Art, exciting visiting artists and scholar series, engaging exhibitions and cross-campus collaborations, we will continue to promote discovery through many views.”