Associate Dean for Students & Curricula

Andrea Bilkey

Andrea Bilkey is responsible for managing undergraduate and academic issues, including the following:

• Chairing the TCVPA Committee on Academic Programs
• Chairing the TCVPA Undergraduate Committee
• Chairing the TCVPA Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Task Force
• Degree program auditing, advising issues, grade appeals
• Enrollment issues, recruitment & retention activities
• Interfacing with the Honors College
• Commencement activities
• Coordinate Catalog copy, Viewbook
• International Affairs - Student issues
• Student Diversity Issues
• Academic Council
• Associate Deans Council
• Teacher Education Council

Designer, associate professor, and associate dean of undergraduate and curricular issues for the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts, Andrea Bilkey has spent over 38 years in the performing arts exploring almost every aspect including: backstage work, acting, singing, dancing, and as a violinist for several years with the greater twin cities youth symphonies in Minneapolis, before focusing primarily in the areas of stage design in the early 1990's. Between her undergraduate and graduate studies in theatre arts she completed an electrics internship at The Juilliard School and worked for the industry, first at Secoa and then at John S. Hyatt and Associates. As a designer and technician, she has worked in various capacities at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Madison Rep, Opera Grand Rapids, Madcap Children's Theatre, Northstar Opera Company, the Canadian Arts Alliance, and for a variety of community theatre companies as well as charitable fundraising events.

Bilkey's teaching focus and creative endeavors include design for the stage, computer drafting and design, theatre planning, technology in the classroom, technology in the design communication process, and performance photography. Research interests also include the history of theatre lighting, where she has been an active participant in the Stage Lighting Archives Working Group at the Pennsylvania State University and participated in two grant supported research trips to their archives, and later in a faculty development leave for deeper exploration in the history of lighting.

Recognitions her work has garnered include USITT's Young Designer's Forum, ETC's LDI student sponsorship program, Southwest Theatre Association First Place in the field of Lighting Design, KCACTF Region III Meritorious achievement award for Lighting Design, and KCACTF Region VI Meritorious award for Lighting Design. She has contributed to iSquint.net, has had her design work published in World Stage Design and TD&T, and has articles and reviews published in TD&T.

Andrea Bilkey is an active member with the United States Institute for Theatre Technology's Lighting Commission, serving previously in consecutive terms as Vice-Commissioner for Communications, Vice-Commissioner for Programming, and Vice-Commissioner for Lighting History.

Bilkey is a fellow of the Texas Academic Leadership Academy, an editor for the Theatre Design & Technology Journal, Vice-Chair of the History & Heritage committee for USITT, and serves on the Board of Directors for USITT.

Bilkey joined the Department of Theatre & Dance at Texas Tech University in 2002 and joined the College in 2019.