The School of the Arts leadership team features faculty who are committed to student success, faculty research and creative activity and meaningful community engagement.
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Amanda Ashley
Director of the School of the Arts, Professor in the School of the Arts, Professor in the School of Public Service
Amanda Ashley is a professor of Urban Studies and Community Development at Boise State University with appointments in the School of Public Service and the School of the Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on the role of placemaking and place belonging in cities and communities. Her recent work focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion in arts and cultural planning, on the role of higher education institutions as arts and cultural anchors and on the emergence of creative city policies and governance. Her work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and she has received the Larry Gould Best Article award and New Scholar Award from the Western Social Science Association. She is a Boise Department of Arts and History Commissioner and she sits on the Garden City Placemaking Planning Group.
Ph.D. — City and Regional Planning from the Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania
MURP — Urban and Regional Planning from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota
Amanda Ashley is a professor of Urban Studies and Community Development at Boise State University with appointments in the School of Public Service and the School of the Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on the role of placemaking and place belonging in cities and communities. Her recent work focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion in arts and cultural planning, on the role of higher education institutions as arts and cultural anchors and on the emergence of creative city policies and governance. Her work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and she has received the Larry Gould Best Article award and New Scholar Award from the Western Social Science Association. She is a Boise Department of Arts and History Commissioner and she sits on the Garden City Placemaking Planning Group.
Ph.D. — City and Regional Planning from the Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania
MURP — Urban and Regional Planning from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota
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Leslie Durham
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
In 2021 Leslie Durham was named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, having previously served as associate dean of arts and humanities since 2012. She continues to teach theatre history and dramaturgy for the theatre arts department.
Durham joined the Boise State faculty in 2001 after earning her Ph.D. at the University of Kansas. An expert in theatre history, women in theatre and dramaturgy, Durham has three books and nearly three dozen journal articles and professional presentations to her credit. She is a member of the Boise State Arts and Humanities Institute advisory board and currently serves as the Boise State liaison to Trey McIntyre Project, Ballet Idaho and the Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Durham fulfilled the role of associate dean in an acting or interim capacity since fall 2010.
Ph.D. — University of Kansas
In 2021 Leslie Durham was named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, having previously served as associate dean of arts and humanities since 2012. She continues to teach theatre history and dramaturgy for the theatre arts department.
Durham joined the Boise State faculty in 2001 after earning her Ph.D. at the University of Kansas. An expert in theatre history, women in theatre and dramaturgy, Durham has three books and nearly three dozen journal articles and professional presentations to her credit. She is a member of the Boise State Arts and Humanities Institute advisory board and currently serves as the Boise State liaison to Trey McIntyre Project, Ballet Idaho and the Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Durham fulfilled the role of associate dean in an acting or interim capacity since fall 2010.
Ph.D. — University of Kansas
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Eric Scott Alexander
Chair, Department of Music, Director of Music Composition, Music Theory Area Coordinator
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Raquel Davis
Chair, Department of Theatre, Film and Creative Writing and Associate Professor of Lighting Design
MFA — Design for Stage and Film, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University
BA — Theatre Design and Art History, Middlebury CollegeMFA — Design for Stage and Film, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University
BA — Theatre Design and Art History, Middlebury College -
Anthony Ellertson
Director and Clinical Professor for the GIMM program
Anthony has been working with interactive media, games and mobile devices for the majority of the last 20 years. His dissertation centered on an eportfolio project using the Rich Internet Application model long before that term was widely used.
Anthony has been working with interactive media, games and mobile devices for the majority of the last 20 years. His dissertation centered on an eportfolio project using the Rich Internet Application model long before that term was widely used.
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Lisa Moore Hunt
Interim Director, Keith and Catherine Stein Luminary and Visiting Assistant Professor, School of the Arts
PhD — Art History and Archaeology, University of Missouri-Columbia
MA — Art History and Archaeology, University of Missouri-Columbia
BA — Art History and Museum Studies, Rhodes CollegePhD — Art History and Archaeology, University of Missouri-Columbia
MA — Art History and Archaeology, University of Missouri-Columbia
BA — Art History and Museum Studies, Rhodes College -
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Dan Scott
Chair, Department of Art, Design and Visual Studies
MFA — Painting, New York Academy of Art
BFA — Drawing and Ceramics, Boise State UniversityMFA — Painting, New York Academy of Art
BFA — Drawing and Ceramics, Boise State University