Visual Arts Program Head
Schiff Professor of Art
Associate Professor
FA 312B
mccombsr1@nku.edu | (859) 572-5562
Retention Specialist / Senior Lecturer
Area: Writing for Visual Artists
FA 330
vanloverec1@nku.edu | (859) 572-1521
B.F.A., in Photography and Electronic Media,
University of Cincinnati, 2002
M.A., Art Education with Teacher Certification in Art,
University of Cincinnati, 2004
Academic Advisor / Lecturer I
Area: New Media
FA 333
mcmanusc3@nku.edu | (859) 572-7907
Courtney McManus is an interdisciplinary artist who was born and raised in Ohio, but will forever and always call Florida home. Despite her early love of art, Courtney was convinced she couldn’t be an artist since she was terrible at drawing. She then discovered photography in high school and saw the error in her conception of artists (this did not however, eliminate the pain of drawing classes in college). She earned her BFA in New Media and Photography from University of Toledo in 2008, and her MFA from Florida State University in 2014. Her work incorporates photography, performance, video, and anything else she feels like in the moment. Within her works, Courtney explores themes of anxiety, perfectionism, failure, and identity, while seeking ways to involve and activate the audience.
Ironically, while she is both a photographer and a performance artist, she hates having her picture taken.
Events and Publicity Manager
FA 313
endresr1@nku.edu | (859) 572-5433
B.M. Northern Kentucky University
Arts Administration graduate micro-credential, NKU (IP)
Rick Endres is the Events and Publicity Manager for Northern Kentucky University's School of the Arts (NKU SOTA), serving as spokesperson and advocate for SOTA and its programs. Rick holds a Bachelor of Music from NKU and is currently earning an Arts Administration graduate micro-credential from NKU. In addition to NKU, Rick is calendar editor for Movers & Makers, a print and digital publication showcasing catalysts and creatives who shape arts & culture, education, healthcare and social services across Cincinnati and the Tri-state region. Prior to his appointment at NKU, he served as Director of Operations & Recruitment and Box Office Manager for Xavier University's Music and Theatre Department from 2012-2017. Other past positions include Greaves Concert Hall Technician (NKU), Instructor of Trumpet (NKU Music Prep), Box Office Assistant (Linton Music Series), and Ticket Sales Associate (Cincinnati Arts Association/Aronoff Center).
Shop Technician / Project Coordinator
Area: Sculpture / Ceramics
CS 104
huberb1@nku.edu | (859) 572-6941
Director of Galleries and Outreach
FA 327
kangs5@nku.edu | (859) 572-5148
Sso-Rha Kang is an educator and curator based in Cincinnati, OH. Her research interests delve into areas of institutional critique, blankness, and aesthetic experience which are rooted in her penchant for banal, slow, and reductive art. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Art History at the University of Cincinnati (Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning) and has curated exhibitions for the Meyers Gallery (Cincinnati, OH), The Carnegie (Covington, KY), Wave Pool (Cincinnati, OH), Pearlman Gallery (Cincinnati, OH), and is currently working with The National Museum for Women in the Arts (Washington, DC).
Associate Professor
Area: Art History
FA 417
kattus@nku.edu | (859) 572-5641
Associate Professor
Area: Photography
FA 406B
banksr2@nku.edu | (859) 572-5910
Senior Lecturer
Area: Foundations
FA 300A
bonnern@nku.edu | (859) 572-5909
Assistant Professor
Area: Visual Communication Design
FA 300
carpenterm3@nku.edu | (859) 572-5848
Assistant Professor
Area: Spatial Arts - Ceramics
CS 103
leej24@nku.edu | (859) 572-7622
JeeEun Lee, born and raised in South Korea, has been an exhibiting artist for twenty years. She received her B.F.A. & M.F.A. in Sculpture at Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea and moved to the U.S in 2010, where she earned a second M.F.A degree (2013) at Syracuse University, New York.
Lee has exhibited solo exhibitions in the U.S., Korea, and Japan as well as numerous group exhibitions. Her work focuses on elements of nature, exploring how nature influences her sense of self and making a wide range of relationships between nature imagery/symbols and human experiences such as memory, movement, time and encounters with life and death. “These elements have provided protection, strength, and sustenance throughout our evolution and existence, and a magical connection to nature,” Lee says.
While clay is her primary medium, her work includes large-scale installations with mixed media, sculpture, public art, and functional objects.
Associate Professor
Area: Drawing/Painting
FA 303
leonem1@nku.edu | (859) 572-6012
Full Professor
Area: Visual Communication Design
FA 302
mader@nku.edu | (859) 572-5670
Lecturer
Area: Spatial Arts - Sculpture
CS 120
maierj2@nku.edu | (859) 572-6115
Joshua Maier has served at NKU for more than three years as an instructor in Spatial Arts, predominantly in the area of Ceramics. This year Josh engages students as a full-time Sculpture Lecturer in the Spatial Arts Area.
Josh received his BFA from Bowling Green State University of Ohio, where he studied Creative Writing and Glass Art. After graduating, he spent nearly ten years working in hot glass shops around the country, developing his craft until health concerns pushed him into a new medium, clay. In Kansas City, he built a small business of art in his own Grim Whimsy Creation Studio, developing new works while also employed as a ceramic studio technician at a local college. The experience inspired him to commit to his art and also an educator.
In 2016 Josh received his MFA from the University of Missouri – Columbia with a focus in Ceramics and Sculpture. Josh describes his sculptural works and interests in ceramic mediums with mixed media details as an exploration of unifying multiple materials (feathers, hair, steel, wood, glass) to craft the look of a developing fiction. The work of his hands and meticulous craftsmanship results in vibrantly colored, tactile, and truly wild works that draw the viewer in to explore, to wonder, and to experience an urge to reach out and touch things they feel they shouldn’t. An abundance of his work and the work of his students can be viewed at www.joshuamaier.com.
Schiff Professor of Art
Associate Professor
Area: New Media, Animation
FA 312B
mccombsr1@nku.edu | (859) 572-5562
Lecturer I
Area: New Media
FA 333
mcmanusc3@nku.edu | (859) 572-7907
Courtney McManus is an interdisciplinary artist who was born and raised in Ohio, but will forever and always call Florida home. Despite her early love of art, Courtney was convinced she couldn’t be an artist since she was terrible at drawing. She then discovered photography in high school and saw the error in her conception of artists (this did not however, eliminate the pain of drawing classes in college). She earned her BFA in New Media and Photography from University of Toledo in 2008, and her MFA from Florida State University in 2014. Her work incorporates photography, performance, video, and anything else she feels like in the moment. Within her works, Courtney explores themes of anxiety, perfectionism, failure, and identity, while seeking ways to involve and activate the audience.
Ironically, while she is both a photographer and a performance artist, she hates having her picture taken.
Full Professor
Area: Painting
FA 413
muentek@nku.edu | (859) 572-5450
Lecturer
Area: Interaction Design
FA 332C
overwinej@nku.edu | (859) 572-5648
Lecturer
Area: Printmaking & Screen Printing
FA 102
plowmane@nku.edu | (859) 572-6116
Randel Plowman received his M.F.A. in printmaking from University of Wisconsin-Madison and his B.F.A. from Northern Kentucky University. He has exhibited in solo and juried exhibitions throughout the United States; in addition, his work appears in many public and private collections in North America and abroad, his work has been cited in numerous publications, including The New York Times and USA Today; been featured in The Paris Review, How Design magazine, Artist Magazine and Somerset Studio. He is the author of two books, Masters: Collage, and The Collage Workbook: How To Get Started And Stay Inspired, voted Best Art Instruction Book of 2012 by the Library Journal.
Website: www.randelplowman.com
Associate Professor
Area: Visual Communication Design
FA 301
schellhash@nku.edu | (859) 572-7740
Lecturer
Area: Foundations
FA 332B
sebastianj4@nku.edu | (859) 572-5648
Julia Sebastian is a Cincinnati-based artist who received an MFA from the University of Cincinnati, DAAP and a BA from Transylvania University in Lexington, KY. In 2015, Sebastian held a residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Alberta, Canada. Sebastian’s studio work of predominantly drawing with a mixture of sculpture and installation has been shown nationally and abroad. Sebastian has taught at the University of Cincinnati and Antioch College, and is currently a Professor of Visual Arts in Foundations at Northern Kentucky University.
Lecturer
Area: Photography
FA 406D
smithchris@nku.edu | (859) 572-5423
Senior Lecturer
Area: Writing for Visual Artists
FA 330
vanloverec1@nku.edu | (859) 572-1521
B.F.A., in Photography and Electronic Media,
University of Cincinnati, 2002
M.A., Art Education with Teacher Certification in Art,
University of Cincinnati, 2004
Lecturer
Area: Art Appreciation
FA 413
widemanp@nku.edu | (859) 572-6061
Denise Wellbrock Ayers | Drawing | wellbrockd1@nku.edu
Lisa Bambach | Visual Communication Design | bambachl1@nku.edu
Julie Burkhardt | Art Education | burkhardtj@nku.edu
Katherine Colborn | Foundations | colbornk1@nku.edu
Richard Fruth | Art Appreciation | fruthr@nku.edu
Brian Harmon | Visual Arts-Foundations | harmonb@nku.edu
Yuling Huang | Art History | huangy5@nku.edu
Jessie Kaising | Visual Communication Design | kaisingj1@nku.edu
Jedidiah Knight | New Media Art | knightj8@nku.edu
Nick Norman | Web & Social Media (Photography) | normann2@nku.edu
Hannah Smith | Foundations & Sculpture | smithh41@nku.edu
Carolyn Wagner | Photography | wagnerc5@nku.edu
Christina Wald | Illustration/Sequential Art | waldc1@nku.edu
Lindsey Whittle | Art Appreciation | whittlel2@nku.edu
Barry Anderson, Awarded Emeritus Status 2011, 35 years of service
Ana England, Awarded Emeritus Status 2016, 30 years of service
Steven Finke, Awarded Emeritus Status 2021, 33 years of service
Barbara Houghton, Awarded Emeritus Status 2015, 23 years of service
Lisa Jameson, Awarded Emeritus Status 2021, 25 years of service
Donald R. Kelm, Awarded Emeritus Status 2002, 23 years of service
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