Beyond the Office

Q: How did you get into art history?

A: “One of my very earliest memories is of being in a stroller in a museum and my mother pointing out the paintings to me. I grew up in a family that very much appreciated the arts but I didn’t go to college thinking I was going to be an art historian. When I took an art history class as a general-education requirement my freshman year, I fell in love with the discipline and decided that was what I wanted to study. My story is a lesson about the power of general education to open up possibilities for students as they come into the university.”

Q: Do you have a favorite museum?

A: The Metropolitan Museum of Art: “It’s the museum I grew up going to most often. There is always something to see there that’s new and interesting. They do a phenomenal job both with their permanent and temporary exhibitions. The Met is near and dear to my heart, but I enjoy exploring all different kinds of museums.”

Q: What are your hobbies and interests when you are not working?

A: “I love going to museums and also the performing arts. I enjoy gardening, too — both flower gardening and vegetable gardening. We did some experimenting with heirloom zucchini and tomato varieties this past summer with mixed success. And I like to cook, both traditional recipes from my Italian family, as well as new ones that I learn from cookbooks or cooking classes.”

Q: What are some books you’ve recently read that you recommend?

A: “This summer I read The Underground Railroad (2016) by Colson Whitehead. I hadn’t gotten around to reading it until now because it came out when my children were young and I had just started as dean of fine arts at UConn, so my reading time was very limited. Over this past winter I had read James (2024) by Percival Everett, which is what brought The Underground Railroad to mind. Both are powerful reinventions of, and reflections on, the Black experience. I also just read Isola (2025) by Allegra Goodman, an extraordinarily inventive novel that uses two very brief 16th-century texts to reimagine the life of a French noblewoman abandoned on an island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.”

Q: What is it about the Northeast that you still love?

A: “I love the cultural and economic dynamism of the Northeast. I also appreciate the region’s inclusiveness and openness. The natural beauty of upstate New York is absolutely breathtaking. I’m excited to be based here.”