The University of Alabama College of Arts and Sciences announced in March that Jason Guynes will chair the Department of Art and Art History starting in August. 
Guynes is currently professor and chair of the Department of Visual Arts at the University of South Alabama. He received the MFA from Tulane University and the BA in art from Belhaven College. He has had academic appointments at universities in Tennessee, Oklahoma and Alabama. Guynes held the post of department chair at the University of West Alabama from 1995 to 2005. He has served at USA since 2005, where he developed or reinstated four degree programs including the new MFA in Creative Technologies and Practice and two concentrations – in animation and in Glass Arts. Read more about Jason Guynes on his website.
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Robert Olin said, “We are delighted to have Jason serve as chair of the Department of Art and Art History. He has more than 20 years of experience as a chair and currently serves as president of the Southeastern College Art Conference promoting advancement of the visual arts in higher education. He brings with him both breadth and depth of experience as a leader, and we are excited about his leadership in continuing to develop the department’s studio and art history work and the department’s presence in downtown Tuscaloosa through our off-campus art galleries.”
UA School of Music professor Tom Wolfe was appointed acting chair for the department for the 2015-2016 school year after former chair Cathy Pagani accepted a position as associate dean of the Graduate School and assistant to the provost in 2015.
The UA Department of Art and Art History provides an innovative, energetic and interdisciplinary learning environment that focuses on academic excellence in the areas of art history and studio art. We provide specialized education for majors and minors in our department, as well as offer general enrichment to students working within the broader context of a university-wide liberal arts curriculum. For more about our programs, visit our website: https://art.ua.edu/.