Dennison W. Griffith

President

He currently serves on the boards of the Columbus Partnership, Experience Columbus and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the leading accreditation agency for the art and design field in this country.

Alongside his administrative career, Denny has maintained a vigorous commitment to his work as an artist. His work has been included in more than 90 group and solo exhibitions domestically and abroad and is in the collections of such institutions as the Butler Institute of American Art, the Columbus Museum of Art, the Columbus Metropolitan Library and Huntington Bank. He is represented by Hammond Harkins Galleries in Bexley, Ohio.

He earned a master of fine arts degree from Ohio State University in 1994 and a bachelor of fine arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1974.

Visit President Griffith's website at www.dennisonwgriffith.com.

Jeffrey A. Fisher

Senior Vice President, Chief Fiscal Officer

Jeffrey A. Fisher has been senior vice president and chief fiscal officer of Columbus College of Art & Design since 1998. He oversees the business, facilities, human relations, information technology, and purchasing departments as well as all construction projects. He has been with the college for more than 27 years, originally hired in 1983. In 1994, he was named vice president for finance. In 1996 and 1997, Fisher served as interim co-president for 15 months while the college searched for a new president.

Prior to joining the college, Fisher worked at Reynolds Metals Company as a financial and cost analyst. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in administrative science and a major of accounting. In 1999, he attended and completed Harvard’s Institute for Educational Management.

Kevin J. Conlon

Vice President for Academic Affairs

In addition to his administrative positions, Conlon works as a writer and consultant in the fields of interaction design, architectural restoration, foundry work, curriculum design, and institutional effectiveness. He has also maintained his fine arts studio practice for more than 25 years. His distinctive sculptural works in bronze, cast resin, clay and fiberglass, as well as oil paintings and works on paper, have won many awards and honors and have been exhibited widely.

Prior to joining CCAD, Conlon served as associate vice president for academic affairs at Ringling College of Art and Design and as dean of undergraduate studies at Savannah College of Art and Design. He earned his bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of South Alabama and his master of fine arts degree from Ohio State University.

Jonathan W. Lindsay   

Vice President for Enrollment Management & Communications

Lindsay is a member of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, the National Association of College and University Business Officers and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. His undergraduate degree is in elementary education from the National College of Education in Chicago.

Laurie Beth Sweeney

Vice President for Advancement

Prior to joining CCAD, Sweeney worked as interim executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbus after several years in fund development and program leadership for the organization. During her time with the Boys & Girls Clubs she consulted with clubs nationwide to create fund development and resource development strategies.

Sweeney’s career has been focused in nonprofit management following her graduation from Illinois State University with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and a master’s degree in community development and nonprofit management. She earned a certificate in fundraising management from the Fundraising School of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and is a Certified Fundraising Executive through the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Active in the community, Sweeney is a 2010 graduate of Leadership Columbus, a board member of the Ronald C. Cooper Memorial Fund, a volunteer at the Center for Healthy Families, and secretary and president-elect of the Central Ohio Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Dwayne Todd

Vice President for Student Affairs

Originally from Dayton, Todd received a bachelor’s degree in music from Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., and a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He is currently completing his doctorate in higher education administration at Ohio State University and serves as an adjunct faculty member at Ohio Dominican University, teaching courses in leadership, organizational change management, and graduate learning strategies.

Todd recently served as the director of professional development on the governing board of College Student Educators International, a comprehensive student affairs professional association with more than 8,000 members worldwide. He also is a member of the Association of Student Conduct Administrators, the Association of College and University Housing Officials–International, and the Ohio College Personnel Association.

Jeffrey Brotherton

Chief Information Officer

Jeffrey Brotherton was appointed chief information officer at CCAD in October 2012. As CIO, he provides vision and leadership for the development and implementation of information technology in support of CCAD’s academic and business operations. He works to improve service quality and cost effectiveness while developing new capabilities in academic and business development for the school. He is responsible for all aspects of CCAD’s information technology and systems.

Before joining CCAD, Brotherton served as director of enterprise systems management at Ohio State University. He also held two positions over six years at Franklin University, first as director of technical infrastructure and then as chief information officer. Before entering the higher education arena, he held several positions in the private business world.

Brotherton has a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Augustana College in Illinois and a master’s degree in business administration from Franklin University.

Chris Mundell

Dean of Students

Chris Mundell joined Columbus College of Art & Design in 2007 and has worked in a variety of student affairs positions with a focus on student success initiatives and academic support programs. He has been instrumental in expanding student support services including the development of an early warning system to identify and assist academically at-risk students, a student behavioral intervention, and care team and an innovative peer tutor/mentor program.

As dean of students, Mundell is responsible for guiding collaborative efforts to enrich the quality of student life. His key responsibilities include direct oversight of counseling and wellness services, disability services, residence life, student involvement, new student orientation, crisis intervention, and student conduct processes.

An active professional and community steward, Mundell is a member of ACPA (College Student Educators International) and has served since 2008 on the executive board for the Ohio College Personnel Association, most recently as its president. Mundell completed the ACPA Mid-Level Management Institute and is a 2012 graduate of the Leadership Columbus program. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from Heidelberg College and a master of science degree in student affairs and higher education from Miami University.

Char Norman

Dean of Faculty

Char Norman came to CCAD in 1998 and was named dean of faculty in September 2011. She seeks to advance the research, scholarship, and teaching agendas of faculty to help them remain competitive, relevant, and focused on institutional excellence.

During her tenure, Norman has created new opportunities by expanding the college’s extracurricular programming, which includes everything from workshops for art and design professionals to international study opportunities. She has developed intensive professional institutes for art educators; a series of unique summer programs that allow students to earn credit beyond the traditional semester schedule; and College PreView, which provides high-school-age students the opportunity to experience art college for a few weeks during the summer.

Norman holds a bachelor’s degree from Scripps College and a master of fine arts degree from Claremont Graduate University. She has completed programs at Cornell University and the Peabody Institute at Vanderbilt University and is a member of the College Art Association, the Association of International Advisors and the American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers, as well as a board member for the Greater Columbus Arts Council. She is an accomplished artist specializing in fiber sculpture and papermaking, and she has an extensive national and international record of teaching and exhibitions.

Visit Char Norman's website: http://www.charnorman.com/

Tom Gattis

Dean, School of Design Arts

Tom Gattis joined CCAD in 2012 to facilitate the creation the college’s new industrial design program. During that time, he worked with other design program chairs as well as the directors of liberal arts and foundation studies to ensure phase in of the Industrial Design program by fall 2013. Gattis, whose prior academic leadership experience includes an associate vice president post and management of curricular overhauls of industrial and furniture design programs, continues to chair the industrial design program in addition to his dean role. In private industry, Gattis has worked as a designer and project manager in the nuclear industry, as an account executive in the trade show and exhibition industry and as a professional model maker.

Gattis earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial design from Auburn University and holds a master’s degree in industrial technology education from Bemidji State University.

A former professor at Savannah College of Art and Design, Gattis spends his spare time as a wooden boat builder and master wood turner. He is a member of the American Craft Council and the American Association of Woodturners.

Visit Tom Gattis' website: www.tomgattis.net

Julie Taggart

Dean, School of Studio Arts

Julie Taggart was appointed dean of the studio arts school in June 2012. She began her career at CCAD in 1994 when she was hired to teach drawing, painting and color theory. She shifted her focus to administration after being appointed chairwoman of painting in 2002. Most recently, as dean of fine art and foundation studies, Taggart transformed the freshman program into a digitally integrated and conceptually engaging curriculum focused on innovation. Traditional skills and expectations of technical excellence have merged with technology-driven, inquiry-based approaches that better prepare students for the rigor of their chosen majors and the expectations of careers in the creative economy.

Taggart is an alumna of CCAD and earned a master’s of fine arts in painting from Syracuse University.

In addition to her work at CCAD, Taggart maintains an active studio practice and a commitment to volunteerism. She was represented by Rebecca Ibel Gallery in Columbus until the gallery closed in 2011, and her paintings have been included in numerous national and international exhibitions. Taggart volunteers weekly at the Mid-Ohio Foodbank and is a path watch volunteer for the city of Westerville.