Rebecca J. DeRoo announced as the next William A. Kern Professor in Communications
The joy of discovery and the exchange of ideas has propelled Professor Rebecca J. DeRoo forward through her 22 years of teaching. After 11 years of sharing engaging research and discussions with students and faculty at RIT, DeRoo was named as the next William A. Kern
Professor in Communications.
Kelly Norris Martin, dean of RIT’s College of Liberal Arts, said she looks forward to seeing DeRoo continue to support and inspire students and faculty members in this new role.
“With the appointment of Rebecca DeRoo, the college is thrilled to continue the legacy of excellence established by previous Kern Professors like Jonathan Schroeder and Diane Hope,” said Martin. “Prestigious events like the Kern Conference on Visual Communication inspired international collaboration and impressive contributions to the fields of visual communication, rhetoric, and culture. I’m confident Rebecca's vision and commitment to advancing visual
culture will extend this remarkable legacy.”
DeRoo, director of the College of Liberal Arts’ visual culture program, said that she is excited and honored by this opportunity to represent the School of Communication, the College of Liberal Arts, and RIT.
"One of the things I love about RIT is the incredible intellectual engagement on campus, and that’s why the Kern Chair is so important. It allows one to increase opportunities to share research and ideas, and I’m grateful for this research time and support,” said DeRoo.
DeRoo’s research and teaching integrates multiple fields of visual communication, such as visual culture, cinema studies, contemporary art, history of photography, exhibition studies, and critical theory. Her scholarship examines contemporary cinema, art, photography, and exhibitions, and focuses on work by major figures that has been understudied. This work often requires conducting in-depth research in museums, libraries, and archives in the US and abroad–as well as interviewing leading artists and filmmakers–in order to piece together original sources and construct new histories.
Over the course of her career, DeRoo has received 46 grants and awards, including a Fulbright Fellowship, National Endowment for the Humanities Research Fellowships, a Killam Fellowship, and a research residency at the French National Institute of Art History (INHA). Her publications have received national and international distinction, such as her book The Museum Establishment and Contemporary Art, which received the Laurence Wylie Prize for Best Book in the field of French Cultural Studies.
DeRoo said her curatorial accomplishments are among her top career highlights. She curated the exhibition “Beyond the Photographic Frame” at the Art Institute of Chicago and, in Rochester, she co-curated a film retrospective, titled “Agnès Varda: (Self)-Portraits. Facts and Fiction,” at the George Eastman Museum. She also served as Community Curator for the “Changemakers: Rochester Women Who Changed the World” exhibition at the Rochester Museum & Science Center and has co-curated several exhibitions on campus.
This year, with support from the Kern Professorship, DeRoo looks forward to continuing her own research–which includes viewing new documents at the British Library–and fostering more opportunities for the cross-pollination of ideas on campus.
“Visual Communication and Visual Culture are essential for understanding and critically engaging the visually saturated contemporary world. The Kern Chair provides a marvelous opportunity to develop our curriculum,” she said. “I also look forward to co-organizing the Visual Arts, Culture, and Media Speaker Series and to resuming the Kern Conferences in Visual Communication to bring together cross-institute students, faculty, staff, and community
members interested in this interdisciplinary field.”
The William A. Kern Professorship in Communications was established as an endowment by the Rochester Telephone Company to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the company. It also provided a memorial for the former company president, Mr. Kern, who served as an RIT trustee from 1959 to 1964. The endowment provides funding for research, scholarly conferences, visiting speakers and student field trips.
Prior to DeRoo being named as the Kern Professor, Jonathan Schroeder was appointed to the Professorship in 2010. Previous Kern professors include Diane Hope, Bruce Austin, Michael Prosser, Harley Parker, György Kepes, and Rob Roy Kelly.