[This article by Dave Shelles with a photo by Darnell Wilburn was first published on the Kennesaw State University website, republished with permission]

Kennesaw State University’s Arthur Liou was installed as the inaugural Audrey Bailey Morgan Distinguished Endowed Dean’s Chair in the Robert S. Geer Family College of the Arts on Wednesday at Morgan Performance Hall.

The endowed chair – the highest honor a university can bestow upon a faculty member – recognizes Liou’s leadership in the Geer College and his three-decade career as a digital artist, educator, and academic leader. The endowment was made possible by a $2 million gift from the Bobbie Bailey Foundation and will allow Liou and all future deans to use annual disbursements from the chair to meet high-priority needs of the Geer College’s nearly 2,000 students and 300 faculty and staff.

“The names Bailey and Morgan are powerful examples of philanthropic leadership in the arts at KSU and continue to elevate our mission and enrich the lives of our students, faculty, and staff,” said KSU President Kathy S. Schwaig. “We are proud to install Arthur Liou as the inaugural Dr. Audrey Bailey Morgan Distinguished Endowed Dean’s Chair and are excited to see the impact this support has on KSU’s rise to national prominence.”

Since 1993, Audrey Morgan and her sister, the late Bobbie Bailey, have donated more than $16 million to various philanthropic efforts at Kennesaw State, making the family KSU’s largest combined donor. Their gifts include the naming of the Dr. Bobbie Bailey School of Music and the Dr. Bobbie Bailey & Family Performance Center within the Geer College, and the Morgan and Bailey Academic Learning Center.

“Our family has always believed that investing in education is one of the most meaningful ways to shape a better future,” Morgan said. “Our focus has been on the arts because they enrich lives, foster creativity, and strengthen communities. For more than 30 years, we’ve proudly supported the Robert S. Geer Family College of the Arts and have watched KSU grow into a nationally respected institution. We’re thrilled to see Arthur Liou step into the Audrey Bailey Morgan Distinguished Endowed Dean’s Chair and are confident his leadership will inspire students and elevate the College’s impact even further. This is an exciting new chapter for the arts at KSU.”

Lance Burchett, vice president for University Advancement and CEO of the KSU Foundation, said the latest transformational gift will have a lasting impact on the University’s academic mission.

“The Audrey Bailey Morgan Distinguished Endowed Dean’s Chair represents an extraordinary commitment to the arts and to the academic mission of Kennesaw State University,” he said. “The generosity of Audrey Morgan and the Bobbie Bailey Foundation ensures that our deans have the resources to innovate, elevate student success, and advance the creative excellence that defines the Robert S. Geer Family College of the Arts.”

Before joining KSU in July, Liou was the Herman B. Wells Endowed Professor of Digital Art at Indiana University Bloomington, where he served as associate dean of the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design and founding director of the Arts & Humanities AI + Digital Futures program. Liou is nationally recognized by two leadership fellowships from the Big 10 Academic Alliance, an elected board of directors position for the College Arts Association (CAA), and the Emerging Arts Administrators Fellowship from the National Council of Arts Administrators (NCAA).

Liou’s creative work encompasses video installation, experimental film, and digital media, often blending poetic and immersive imagery to explore themes of environment, memory, spirituality, and cultural history. His projects have taken him from the Himalayas to tsunami-stricken Japan, from cannabis fields and research labs to borders between the US and Mexico. His films and installations have been exhibited internationally, including Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Rubin Museum in New York, Crystal Bridges Museum, National Gallery Victoria, Melbourne, Seoul Museum of Art, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Red Brick Museum, Beijing, Art Basel: Hong Kong, and Sharjah Biennial. 

“The inaugural Audrey Bailey Morgan Distinguished Endowed Dean’s Chair is both a privilege and a responsibility I will carry with profound respect,” Liou said in his remarks. “I am deeply grateful for the trust placed in me, for the opportunity to serve the Geer College of the Arts, and above all, for the vision and generosity of Dr. Morgan and her family.”

– Story by Dave Shelles

Photo by Darnell Wilburn