Adams began his first term June 15, 2015 and will serve in the position for another five years
Brigham Young University Academic Vice President C. Shane Reese has announced that Ed Adams has been reappointed as dean of the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications.
“I join in expressing gratitude to Dean Adams for the caliber of his service and for his willingness to continue serving as dean,” Reese said. “He has a genuine concern for our students’ success, and I look forward to more innovation under his capable leadership. I anticipate that he will continue to provide strong leadership to the college and valuable service to the entire university.” Adams was originally appointed as dean of the college in the summer of 2015 and will serve in the position for another five years. He expressed his appreciation for those who have placed their confidence in him. “I want to thank my colleagues in the college for their endorsement, and the BYU administration for their trust in reappointing me to serve five more years as dean,” Adams said. “I’m particularly grateful for the service of associate deans, Amy Jensen, Jeremy Grimshaw and Rory Scanlon. We came in together five years ago and we are still here. They do much to set the working tone and a culture of collaboration in the college. I receive a lot of support and counsel from them.”
During his first term as dean, Adams made numerous contributions to the college. These accomplishments include refining rank and status documents and strengthening the process, working closely and being responsive to department chairs and school directors to advance their strategic aims, and establishing a large endowment in the Department of Dance. Adams was also heavily involved in BYU’s approval to construct a new Music Building. “I am thrilled with Adams’ reappointment and know that he will continue to bless the lives of our faculty and students through his inspired leadership,” said Kirt Saville, director of the School of Music. “I have learned so many positive lessons from watching him work through seemingly insurmountable problems. That he has maintained such a positive and cheerful outlook through thick and thin makes him a role model for all of us.”
Mark Magleby, museum director at the BYU Museum of Art, echoed Saville’s comments. “If history is any indicator, five more years of Ed Adams as dean of the College of Fine Art and Communications will yield more experiential learning, vastly-improved facilities and multiplied resources for research and creative works,” Magleby said. “His amiable, disciplined nature makes friends and influences nations. His humility is genuine despite the scale of his ambition and intellect. Adams is the very model of modern mentor and disciple.” Prior to his appointment as dean of the college, Adams served in various administrative positions. He accepted a faculty position at BYU in 1999 and has since served as chair of the Department of Communications, director of the School of Communications — during which time he oversaw the department becoming a school — and as an associate dean for the college. Before coming to BYU, Adams managed a magazine publishing company and later taught at Ohio University and Angelo State University.