The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) Board of Trustees announces the appointment of Samuel Hoi as the next president in the College’s 188-year history, effective July 1. Hoi is currently president of Otis College of Art and Design, in Los Angeles. He will succeed president Fred Lazarus IV, who will step down after a 36-year presidential tenure that is the longest in Maryland today. Hoi’s appointment follows a unanimous vote by the board.
Hoi will assume leadership at MICA following a period of unprecedented growth in the College’s reputation, programs, enrollment, financial strength, and the endowment. MICA’s MFA graduate programs are nationally ranked in the top 10 by U.S. News and World Report. Parade magazine recently listed MICA’s undergraduate studio arts programs collectively as one of the top two nationwide, and GDUSA named the institution one of the top 20 design schools. In each of the past seven years, MICA has been recognized by The Chronicle of Higher Education as a top producer of Fulbright Scholars among specialty schools and a “Best Northeastern College” by The Princeton Review.
In selecting Hoi, the board particularly noted his bold steps to highlight art and design’s tangible impact, as evidenced by the annual Otis Report on the Creative Economy produced under his direction, and his efforts to position Otis students as community engagement leaders through the launch of the Creative Action: an Integrated Learning Program curriculum model. Under Hoi’s leadership, enrollment at Otis increased as much as 34 percent, operating resources have more than doubled, and the endowment has more than tripled, attributable in part to a 200 percent increase in individual donors.
“MICA is poised to continue raising its visibility and impact as a world leader in demonstrating how creativity and invention can help enhance almost every area of our lives, from commerce to culture and everywhere in between,” Hoi said. “I’m looking forward to working with MICA’s extraordinary faculty and staff, Baltimore’s businesses and creative community, and other higher education leaders to continue MICA’s tradition of both evolutionary and revolutionary leadership in programmatic innovation to shine a light on the importance of art and design education internationally.”
Hoi is a highly regarded educator and thought-leader on both coasts, sought after as a speaker and presenter. Prior to arriving at Otis, where he is also known for nurturing unique relationships with major creativity-based companies including Nike and Mattel, he was dean at Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington, D.C. While there, he helped diversify offerings, growing continuing education registrations by 50 percent and related revenue by 100 percent. He also oversaw a 24 percent degree program enrollment growth and a physical expansion.
Hoi’s appointment follows a national search. MICA’s board, working with faculty, staff, and students, formed a search committee that initiated an international search for the next president. The full board endorsed the search committee’s recommendation with an affirmative vote at its annual January board meeting on Friday, January 31.
For more information about the new appointment, visit mica.edu/forwardmomentum. For interview requests or a high-resolution headshot, contact MICA’s Office of Communications at T +1 410 225 2300.
Founded in 1826, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is the oldest continuously degree-granting college of art and design in the nation. The College enrolls nearly 3,500 undergraduate, graduate and continuing studies students from all 50 states and 57 countries in fine arts, design, electronic media, art education, liberal arts, and professional studies degree and non-credit programs.
Redefining art and design education, MICA is pioneering interdisciplinary approaches to innovation, research, and community and social engagement. Alumni and programming reach around the globe, even as MICA remains a cultural cornerstone in the Baltimore/Washington region, hosting hundreds of exhibitions and events annually by students, faculty and other established artists.
