{"id":3311,"date":"2025-07-28T16:27:26","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T20:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/spotlight\/?page_id=3311"},"modified":"2025-07-31T11:42:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T15:42:40","slug":"svad-2025","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/spotlight\/svad-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"2024-25 – Visual Arts and Design"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\"People<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tSchool Website\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t Rudy\u00a0McDaniel,\u00a0director<\/p>\n

Active Students (as of Fall 2024)*<\/span><\/h2>\n

Undergrad majors: 2,060
\nUndergrad minors: 285
\nUndergrad certificates: 0
\nGraduate students:\u00a0 33<\/p>\n

2024-25 Student Credit Hours: 37,087<\/h2>\n

*All active students with declared CAH programs are included in the enrollment counts.<\/small>
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\nUCF\u2019s School of Visual Arts and Design (SVAD)<\/a> continues to thrive as a hub for innovation, artistic excellence and community engagement. During the 2024\u201325 academic year, SVAD\u2019s commitment to fostering creativity and scholarly rigor was evident across student achievements, faculty accolades, landmark events and powerful partnerships. With strong growth in faculty and student recognition, impactful outreach efforts and nationally ranked programs, SVAD remains at the forefront of visual arts and design education.<\/p>\n

Celebrating Student and Faculty Excellence<\/h2>\n

SVAD played a central role in this year\u2019s UCF Celebrates the Arts<\/a>, once again showcasing the dynamic talents of our students and faculty. Lobby exhibitions brought to life the work of advanced painting, 3D design, MFA Studio Art, character animation and visualization students, as well as architecture program displays and creative contributions from the Florida Prison Education Project<\/a>. Audiences enjoyed a rich array of public events including the Architecture Showcase and Awards, Creative Clash, the Graphic Design and Animation Showcase, and Character Animation and VFX Premieres. These collective efforts earned UCF a second nomination for the Golden Brick Award from the Orlando Downtown Partnership \u2014 a recognition of the program\u2019s artistic influence and community impact.<\/p>\n

The third annual Art Knight!<\/em><\/a> open house expanded upon its successful formula, welcoming over 1,400 attendees to the Visual Arts Building on the Friday before Thanksgiving. This vibrant evening of music, food and visual culture featured DJs from Knights of the Turntables, gourmet offerings from local food trucks and a special appearance by Knightro. The event also coincided with the opening reception of Atmos: Fall 2024 BFA Exhibition<\/em> at the UCF Art Gallery<\/a>, showcasing the creative power of graduating seniors.<\/p>\n

\"Animation<\/p>\n

National Recognition and Rankings<\/h2>\n

SVAD\u2019s Distinguished Artist Series enriched the academic year with visits from acclaimed contemporary artists Elizabeth Allen-Cannon, Wendy White and Noelle Mason. These events introduced students and community members to new perspectives across artistic disciplines. Additional guest speakers included international ceramics artist Janina Myronova, animator and director James Parris, and design professionals from Counter Brand & Type, reflecting SVAD\u2019s interdisciplinary reach and global outlook.<\/p>\n

SVAD faculty secured significant funding and honors this year. Keri Watson was awarded a $50,000 grant from the Laughing Gull Foundation and a $750,000 Mellon Foundation grant for her work with the Florida Coalition for Higher Education<\/a>. Matt Dombrowski continued his pioneering work with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the State Department and presented his research at the Game Developers Conference (GDC)<\/a>, the world\u2019s largest gathering for interactive media. He was also honored with UCF\u2019s 2024 Luminary Award. SVAD Pegasus Professor Stella Sung received the prestigious Pabst Steinmetz Foundation Arts and Wellness Innovation Award<\/a>, reinforcing her standing as a leading figure in contemporary music and media arts.<\/p>\n

SVAD\u2019s Emerging Media Animation Tracks continued to earn national distinction, ranked No. 4 among the top 40 public animation schools in the U.S.<\/a> by Animation Career Review. UCF also ranked No. 6 among public colleges for illustration<\/a> and No. 4 for visual effects programs<\/a>, reinforcing SVAD\u2019s role as a leader in creative media education.<\/p>\n

\"Student<\/p>\n

Community Engagement and Outreach<\/h2>\n

SVAD\u2019s advocacy efforts were recognized as well. The student organization WIA@UCF (We in Animation) was recognized as the Advocacy Organization of the Year at the 2025 RSO (Registered Student Organization) Impact Awards, reflecting the group\u2019s strong leadership and positive impact within the campus community.<\/p>\n

SVAD welcomed nine new faculty members and conducted five faculty searches in areas including architecture, animation and graphic design. Notable faculty achievements included:<\/p>\n