Alumni Spotlight: Lara Kuykendall

I finished my PhD in American Art at KU in Spring 2011 and started at Ball State that fall as Assistant Professor. I taught art of the United States, the history of photography, museum studies, art historical methodologies, and a global survey there for twelve years. In 2023 I became Director of the School of Art. In my new role, I work with approximately 45 faculty and staff and nearly 700 students, spanning art history, art education, graphic design and graphic arts management, animation, and studio art. We have facilities for painting, drawing, and printmaking, ceramics, metals + jewelry, sculpture, glass, photography and video art. It’s exciting to work so closely with artists and art students on a regular basis, and to learn what it takes to maintain such a wide array of facilities. I collaborate with our campus museum, the David Owsley Museum of Art, and colleagues in theatre, dance, and music. I didn’t necessarily see myself pursuing administration, as I love teaching and researching early 20th-century art and politics, but I think my experience as an American art historian helps me advocate for the essential value of creative expression, especially in a small, midwestern city, and that is a key aspect of my job now.

Without a doubt, the incredible teaching opportunities I got at KU helped me secure a tenure-track job before I graduated. It was still an adjustment to go from teaching one or two classes per semester to a full-time teaching load (with service and research, as well), but it was good to already have a sense of who I was in the classroom and how to structure a syllabus. That said, the way I teach has changed a lot over the years, especially since the pandemic, but my classroom style was shaped by the incredible mentorship I got working with Charlie Eldredge, David Cateforis, Marni Kessler, and others in Lawrence.

Chase those special opportunities for graduate students while you are in school: fellowships at museums and libraries, study abroad (as a teacher or a student), conferences (as a presenter or spectator), and connecting with visiting artists and scholars like the Murphy lecturers who come to campus. And remember that time with your fellow grad students in art history, and from other disciplines, is time well spent. I keep in touch with so many folks from my time at KU and we share experiences, meet up at conferences, support one another, and collaborate regularly. That Jayhawk bond is unbreakable!