Meet the School of Art Director

Dane Webster comes to us from the University of Colorado Denver, where he was the Director of the Digital Animation Center (DAC) program and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for the College of Arts and Media. Previously he was at Virginia Tech for 12 years, where he started their 3D computer animation program within the School of Visual Arts. While there, he also created and served as Director of the MFA in Creative Technologies and was a Senior Fellow with the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology which promotes research and education at the boundaries between art, design, engineering, and science.

Dane has extensive experience in administration, fundraising, technology and both international and interdisciplinary collaboration. His artwork and short films have been shown in juried art exhibitions and highly competitive short film venues. His visualizations helped raise funds for $100 million in building projects at Virginia Tech, have been viewed over 110,000 times, primarily by students learning about a Native American settlement in Virginia, and have been shown as part of an interactive app at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. He is a photographer, animator, visualizer, and creative coder.

"I focus on the notion that, by their very design, universities hold a transdisciplinary conference on their campuses every single day. In addition to working with other artists, I have collaborated with researchers in computer science, music, math, mechanical engineering, disaster science, history, weather, social science, and education. This is my intellectual community and scholarly context."

"I have thought often of my last night in Lubbock during my campus visit, sitting in a restaurant around a large dinner table, talking with many of the School of Art faculty about the past, present, and a possible future. That night put the hook in me, leaving me feeling humbled at the thought of being welcomed by such an impressive group of artists, designers, scholars, and professionals; and also very excited about what new steps we all might take together."

At Texas Tech University, Dane will coordinate and guide all aspects of the School of Art in collaboration with the faculty and the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts. During this very exciting time for both the School of Art and the College, Dane's experience and vision will complement our strategic initiatives and help us all to raise the profile of the School and College nationally and internationally. He will help us create partnerships with other institutions, broaden our recruiting of high quality students and faculty, as well as lift the visibility of the School of Art's faculty and alumni. Please join us in welcoming Dane Webster to his new position at Texas Tech!