Dean's Message

I was attracted to the Hartford Art School for many of the same reasons you are: its history, rigorous programs, quality faculty, outstanding facilities, and location. The close proximity to New York City and Boston is a real advantage, in addition to the 200 art-related organizations within a fifty-mile radius. Add to that the numerous visiting artists and distinguished lecture series and the exhibitions at the Joseloff and Silpe galleries on campus and you have a vibrant urban environment for working, living and learning.

The school has been educating successful artists for 134 years since it was first housed in the Wadsworth Atheneum, the nation’s oldest public art museum; it’s an honor to become part of this legacy. The small size of 350 undergraduate students with 44 full-time and part-time faculty affords a 17:1 student / faculty ratio for personal instruction, with plenty of access to the school’s excellent facilities. The Hartford Art School has all the advantages of the nation’s best independent colleges of art and design, with the benefit of being within a comprehensive university that offers a strong liberal arts core and a range of distinctive professional schools that can provide minors in complementary disciplines. For me, it was an easy decision to relocate to the Hartford area and join the dedicated faculty, staff and administrators at the University of Hartford.

Nancy M. Stuart, Ph.D.