Harshini Kanala, Contributing Writer
VCU School of Arts Dean Carmenita Higginbotham announced she will be stepping down from her position as dean at the end of the 2026-2027 academic year.
The university will conduct a national search for Higginbotham’s successor throughout the academic year, according to VCU News. Higginbotham plans to return to VCU as faculty to focus on her research and scholarship after taking a brief leave.
During Higginbotham’s tenure, VCUarts ranked No. 1 in public fine arts for graduate programs and No. 2 overall in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report.
VCUarts received funding for the CoStar Center for Arts and Innovation and integrated the Institute for Contemporary Art into the School of the Arts.
VCU approved the consolidation of several arts departments during her tenure, according to a previous report by the CT.
During Higginbotham’s tenure in 2025, the school’s decision to discontinue a standalone fall commencement ceremony prompted student backlash and a petition calling for its reinstatement, according to a previous report by the CT.
In March, faculty members publicly raised concerns about faculty departures, alleged racially motivated faculty termination, tenure policies and low morale within the school, with some alleging a lack of transparency from administration
A situation on which Higginbotham stated that the school could not comment on the specific circumstances of Professor Monsieur “Sandy” Zohore’s employment and referred to these new tenure guidelines according to a previous CT report.
Noah Mathias Birkeland, a Painting and Printmaking alum, feels that the announcement is a result of disjointed structure, lack of consistent focus and leadership. He said these are a sign of the profit-focused culture held by VCU administration.
“In general, the arts program feels like it’s had many administrative hands involved with very little evidence or benefit for the students and faculty,” Mathias Birkeland said. “I never had much connection of the dean, in fact, the first time I saw her at all was at my graduation ceremony, at which she was booed upon the beginning of her speech.”
Julia Freund, a second-year in Painting and Printmaking major at VCU, said she was initially apprehensive of the restructuring of the Fine Arts department but has not noticed any difference.
“I wish that I was more aware of what changes she did when she was in office…I think that AFO was run well overall, but there were a couple of things I wished were different…some of the facilities could use an upgrade.” Freund said.
Emory Bartenstein Lillard, a fourth-year Fashion Design major, hopes that the new dean will prioritize student concerns.
“I have spoken to Dean Higginbotham once about the need for better supplies and buildings that aren’t moldy or falling apart for the current art and fashion students, but nothing came of it,” Bartenstein Lillard said. “Higginbotham secured funding for the new costar building for performing arts, a remarkable achievement for posterity, but one that greatly disregards the current state of the art buildings and neglects the same students they herald as tokens of their exquisite teachings.”
Bartenstein Lillard, along with several of her classmates she’s talked with, feels that Higginbotham and the administration only value the art students when it helps them grow their reputation, and the rest of the year they are neglected while tuition and material prices rise.
“Higginbotham makes over 300k per year, but her salary does not reflect the amount of work put into giving the art students a better school environment,” Bartenstein Lillard.
Bartenstein Lillard said that Higginbotham’s salary does not reflect the work she puts into giving art students a better environment.
“My professors are not the problem,” Lillard said. “They care about us and want us to succeed. It’s the administration that needs to change. The turnover rate is so high, people who care about us are gone by next year.”
TyRuben Ellingson, an associate professor for the Department of Communication Arts at VCU, who worked as part of the dean’s senior director team of the narrative media group.
“I’ve been at VCU since 2013. Higginbotham was the fifth Dean and I was already in leadership when she got here, I was working with Nancy Scott and had more contact [with the situation] than normal faculty,” Ellingson said.
Ellingson said Higginbotham was the fifth dean during his tenure at VCU.
“It’s difficult for deans to arrive in a community and try to find their footing in a preexisting culture… Faculty are invested in it [the community] for a long time it’s a challenging position to come into. For any Dean, they learn about the culture and it takes a year.” Ellingson said.
Ellingson said the dean listened to faculty and took time to formulate opinions, not coming in with an agenda.
Ellingson said the new building was in the works before this Dean arrived and the Dean was more involved with the strategy of the building. He thinks a reconfiguration of the school was very healthy.
“My view, the dean is able to tell the most compelling story about the value of the things they oversee. They have to be capable of sharing that story with stakeholders who are in a position to do things for the school,” Ellingson said. “They [the dean] are the true believers of the arts. They illuminate and underscore the value of our programs.”
Matt Wallin, a professor in Communication Arts, said that during his time as a department chair, he became aware of how decisions the school made affect individual departments differently.
“I would describe the changes during Dean Higginbotham’s tenure as a mixed bag,” Wallin said. “There have been some positive developments and a real effort to move the school forward, but I’ve also seen a growing tension between institutional growth and maintaining the things that have historically made VCUarts successful.
Wallin said that as department chair, he noticed it is difficult to replace institutional knowledge and mentorship that comes with someone who has been a part of the university for 10 or 20 years. He also said that new people can bring ideas to the arts program.
“One other thing that has occurred to me numerous times over the past 20 years is that, were I ever in the role of a Dean, a Provost, or a President at VCU, I would not accept such disproportionate compensation in its entirety,” Wallin said. “No one needs $350,000 to $1 million a year in compensation to live like a king or queen in Richmond, Virginia.”