PHILADELPHIA (September 14, 2009) – James Savoie has been named associate provost at the University of the Arts. Most recently, Savoie was the assistant vice president for academic affairs at Philadelphia University. Savoie will be responsible for the University’s graduate programs, student learning assessment and international education/study abroad.

“We are happy to have James helping to lead our academic enterprise because of his experience in supervising academic support services, coordinating study abroad programs, and supervising curricular and other governance processes,” said Provost Michael Nash.

“I’m excited by all three of these challenges,” said Savoie, an A.B.D. doctoral candidate at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. But it’s the international education / study abroad part of his new position that really has him intrigued. “International education has always been an extraordinary passion for me,” he said. “I think that seeing a different part of the world is imperative for the education of our students – that means that both students and faculty should be spending time outside of this country.”

At Philadelphia University, Savoie served as a member of the academic council and on the university’s senior strategy team for academic programs. He managed all strategic initiatives for program assessment and international education, and oversaw academic support programs. In October 2008, Savoie served as a panelist on the Institute for International Education’s forum “Education without Borders” at the United Nations.

Prior to working at Philadelphia University, Savoie was the director of academic services at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he managed faculty affairs and all academic advising programs for the school’s 12 departments and 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

A resident of the East Falls section of Philadelphia, Savoie earned his Master of Arts degree from the University of Maine’s Department of Theatre and Dance in 1989, and his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Department of Communications and Theater at the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) in 1985. He is a member of several national academic associations, including the American Council of Academic Deans, the Association of American Colleges and Universities, Association of Theatre in Higher Education, and Institute for International Education.

The University of the Arts is the nation’s first and only university dedicated to the visual, performing and communication arts. Its 2,300 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs on its campus in the heart of Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts. The institution’s roots as a leader in educating creative individuals date back to 1868.


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