Faculty Creative Scholarship
Meet our faculty makers, mentors, and visionaries
At AAD, teaching goes hand-in-hand with creating, performing, and designing. Our faculty are active professionals and engaged mentors who bring their creative practices into the classrooms and studios every day.
Beyond campus, they are making a difference by exhibiting in galleries, performing on stages, building communities, and collaborating across industries. Their work shapes conversations, environments, and experiences — and keeps them deeply connected to the evolving worlds of art, performance, design, and architecture.
Tips for finding your creative mentor
If you’re a student seeking a faculty mentor to help guide your creative work, here are some ideas: take a class with someone you’re curious about, ask other students, send an email to introduce yourself, and explore faculty bios.
Looking for faculty experts and expertise?
Are you another faculty member, industry partner, or alum looking to collaborate or connect? Meet the faculty who bring AAD’s creative vision to life and whose work spans disciplines, communities, and industries. Whether you're a potential partner or a like-minded creative, our people are a great place to start your next project.
Experience faculty creativity live
Our faculty don’t just teach creative disciplines — they practice them, too. They’re artists, performers, designers, directors, and makers who regularly share their work with the public. You can see them on stage, in galleries, or leading conversations about the creative process.
Get to know our faculty creators
Across the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design, faculty are launching bold projects that connect creativity with community, culture, and technology. These spotlights highlight just a few of the many ways our faculty are pushing boundaries, leading collaborative work, and making an impact.
Hiromi Okumura
Collegiate Assistant Professor
School of Visual Arts
Hiromi Okumura is leading a project that blends sustainable art-making with community connection. Drawing on local plants and food waste, she creates natural dyes and uses them in hands-on workshops that engage older adults in creative exploration. These sessions offer more than just artistic expression — they foster social connection, environmental awareness, and a sense of shared purpose.
Alan Weinstein
Professor
School of Performing Arts
Cellist Alan Weinstein has performed at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, and Miller Theater in New York City; at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.; at Spivey Hall in Atlanta; and at the Interlochen Festival, Piccolo Spoleto Festival, and Edinburgh Fringe Festival. As cellist for the mixed chamber ensemble, October Sky (at far left in the photo), he has performed at the National Library of Wales and Conway Hall in London.
Eiman Elgewely
Assistant Professor
School of Design
Eiman Elgewely (at second from right in photo) is leading an interdisciplinary team reimagining ancient Egyptian artifacts through immersive virtual reality. Her project, “Breathing Life into Meketre’s Tomb Models in VR: A Spatial Storytelling Immersive Experience,” brings together students and faculty from design, computer science, and creative technologies to digitally reconstruct a 4,000-year-old tomb garden with historical accuracy.
Ben Pennell
Visiting Assistant Professor of Practice
School of Architecture
Pennell designed and built a contemporary residence in Christiansburg, Virginia, as a speculative house to explore his intrigues within architecture and experiment with simple materials. The use of cement board panels, plywood cladding, and steel bracing created a mechanical aesthetic and the feeling that the residence is still under construction. The interior is flooded by natural light from a central light shaft that was transformed into an artistic chandelier.
