Dr. Jacqueline Reich has been appointed dean of the School of Communication and the Arts, effective Monday, July 12. Reich has a robust background in higher education and brings a wealth of knowledge to Marist.

June 21, 2021—Marist College named Dr. Jacqueline Reich the dean of the School of Communication and the Arts, effective Monday, July 12, 2021.

Dr. Reich joins the Marist community from Fordham University, where she was professor of communication and media studies, and recently completed a seven-year term as chair. Reich is also a member of the doctoral faculty at the University of Florence’s History of Art and Performance Ph.D. program. As department chair, Reich oversaw the creation of four undergraduate majors and five new minors, an interdisciplinary program in new media and digital design, and a new master’s program in public media. Under her leadership, enrollments grew 40 percent in undergraduate and 50 percent in graduate programs. In addition, she supervised more than 60 full- and part-time faculty.

Prior to Fordham, Reich spent 18 years as an assistant and associate professor of cinema and cultural studies at Stony Brook University. There, she was responsible for the revision of three undergraduate majors and two minors, participated in the merger of two departments into one, and supervised a staff of nine in her role as faculty director of the Undergraduate College of Arts, Culture, and Humanities. During her career she has served on a number of university-wide committees, including elected appointments to Fordham’s Faculty Senate, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Executive Committee, the Faculty Policy and Resources Committee (chair), and the Tenure and Reappointment Appeals Committee (chair).

“I am so thrilled to be joining Marist at this pivotal moment in higher education. The School of Communication and the Arts, with its core values and mission, is strategically positioned to provide a model of curricular and extra-curricular excellence for the post-pandemic world,” said Reich. “I am particularly excited to join a school that integrates academic research and professional training with community-based learning and a commitment to service,” she continued.

In addition to her career in higher education, Reich is the author of two books and co-author of another, including The Maciste Films of Italian Silent Cinema (Indiana University Press, 2015), which won Best Book on Film and Media from the American Association of Italian Studies and was a finalist for the Best Book on Film for the Theatre Library Association. Other honors and awards include a visiting professorship at the University of Florence and a Howard Fellowship from the George A. and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation at Brown University. She has a M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkley and a B.A. from Dartmouth College.

“I am pleased to welcome Dr. Jacqueline Reich to the Marist community, to lead our innovative School of Communication and the Arts. After conducting an extensive national search, Dr. Reich set herself apart from other candidates through her vast experiences developing curriculum and creating opportunities for students to complete research, and acquire hands-on experience to prepare for a career upon graduation,” said Thomas Wermuth, Vice President for Academic Affairs.

About the School of Communication and the Arts
The School of Communication and the Arts offers majors in Art History, Communication, Digital Media, Fashion Design, Fashion Merchandising, Fine Arts, Games and Emerging Media, Media Studies and Production, and Studio Art. The Art History major/minor, Digital Media major, Fashion Design major, Global Marketing Communication certificate, Interior Design major, and Studio Art major/minor/certificate, and Master’s in Museum Studies are all offered at Marist’s branch campus in Florence, Italy.

The Lowell Thomas Communications Center, the home to the School of Communication and the Arts, has two cutting-edge television production studios. Other state-of-the-art facilities house classrooms, video editing labs, computer labs, faculty offices, and collaborative workspaces. Our Fashion Design/Merchandising students have the opportunity to practice their skills at dynamic events like New York Fashion Week and Marist’s annual Silver Needle Runway Fashion Show. Marist’s Fashion and Art & Digital Media Programs are housed in the newly renovated Steel Plant. The modern, beautifully designed Steel Plant includes key spaces such as digital labs, fashion studios, a makerspace, fashion exhibition gallery, art gallery, Mporium retail laboratory, and Winter Garden.

Marist’s branch campus in Florence, Italy gives students in the School of Communication and the Arts the opportunity to study their passions in the birthplace of the Renaissance. Marist students also have the unique experience of participating in The Venice Biennale, a six credit program in Art History and Studio Art. This program immerses students in the captivating culture of Venice, Italy, and provides the opportunity to explore the work of global contemporary artists featured at the Biennale sites and museums. The Marist in Manhattan Program turns New York City into a classroom and allows students to complete their classes online, all while interning and living in one of the world’s most exciting cities.

The Center for Sports Communication gives students the unique opportunity to lead an online sports publication, CenterField, which covers Marist’s 23 Division I athletics programs. In addition, students engage with leading industry professionals in Sports Communication. The School of Communication and the Arts has a fully-equipped space dedicated to the Center of Social Media that displays digital listening data from across the globe. The Center for Social Media utilizes Salesforce’s Social Studio and Command Center to prepare students for futures in social and digital industries. Students involved with the Center for Social Media are provided training in and out of the classroom through internships, ambassadorships, and course materials.