Mary Schmidt Campbell

Who is Mary Schmidt Campbell?

Mary Schmidt Campbell is dean emerita of the Tisch School of the Arts and Associate Provost for the Arts at New York University. She was appointed Dean in 1991 and Associate Provost in December 2004.

Campbell is also chair of the Department of Art and Public Policy at the Tisch School since 2000. Under her stewardship as Dean, the Tisch School has tripled the number of applications it receives, cut its acceptance rate in half, and increased the percentage of minority students studying there from 10% to 40%. She has initiated major renovations of the School’s film facilities; inaugurated new programs in Art and Public Policy, Film Preservation and Archiving, and Recorded Music; and is currently leading the School in a $75 million capital campaign. As Associate Provost for the Arts, her responsibility is to provide guidance and leadership in the arts which transcend individual schools at NYU.

Previously, she was Commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs from 1987-1991 in the Edward I. Koch and David Dinkins administrations. She came to city government after having served as executive director of the Studio Museum in Harlem from 1977-87.