In the Director of CORE-First Year role, Dr. Michael Kellner provides managerial support in the department that creates a common studio curriculum for all undergraduate degree programs at CCAD. Working closely with other academic departments, Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, he facilitates a curriculum that is distinct, challenging, and inclusive. By meeting students where they are, the CORE-First Year courses help set new undergraduates on their path to becoming creative leaders in their future professional careers.

 Dr. Kellner joined CCAD in 2019 as an Associate Professor in both the CORE program and graduate studies. Before moving into the director position in 2022, he was awarded a Teaching Excellence award at the college. He worked with a small committee of faculty and administrators to help quickly build an online curriculum facilitating student success through the pandemic. Additionally, he has worked on retention, curatorial, and curricular initiatives to help create a sense of belonging for all at the college.

 In his creative research, Dr. Kellner makes drawings and sound pieces by deconstructing the piano scores of J.S. Bach and then putting them back together in systematic ways. He is inspired by iterative artmaking practices, graphic notation, and contemporary pop and avant-garde music. Additionally, he researches in the areas of care ethics, perception, and creativity, striving to not only think about what it means to bring something new into the world but under what conditions the new is allowed to flourish. Since 2021, Dr. Kellner also serves as the Editor for the academic journal FATE in Review, a peer-reviewed journal addressing pedagogy in first-year art and design programs. If you would like to learn more about his work, exhibition history, and courses taught, please visit: michaelkellnerart.com.

PhD Arts Administration, Education, and Policy Ohio State 2014

MFA Studio Art University of Cincinnati 2002

BFA Studio Art University of Louisville 2000