GAINESVILLE, FL.- Eric Segal, former assistant professor of Art History at the University of Florida, has been appointed Curator of Academic Programs at the Harn Museum of Art. The newly created position is designed to enhance the Museum’s rich relationship with UF, and to continue to strengthen educational programming at the museum. Eric’s appointment will further foster collaboration between UF faculty and students, who turn to the Harn as a dynamic, innovative campus resource. As Curator of Academic Programs Segal will lead the ongoing effort to weave the museum’s programs into the academic fabric of the University of Florida to enhance student learning experiences.

The Harn Museum plays an integral role in the interconnected, international community at the University of Florida. The Harn partners with academic departments and campus organizations to integrate the arts and culture into curricula throughout UF’s system of colleges and centers. This past summer UF offered a course titled “Get a Job” in conjunction with the Harn Museum’s exhibition America at Work, which featured 30 Mather Work Incentive posters from the mid-1920s, designed to motivate workers, improve productivity and strengthen morale. The course supported interdisciplinary learning across several disciplines, and was taught by professors in business, labor history, women’s studies, graphic design and advertising, as well as by Harn Museum curators.

“Segal’s appointment will assist in fostering already established relationships and stimulating new connections,” said Rebecca M. Nagy, Harn Museum Director. “I want all faculty, from the humanities to the physical sciences, to understand the museum is a resource that can be used in many disciplines, not just art. Our goal is to provide life changing experiences with works of art to every UF student.”

“This appointment is a perfect fit for me,” said Eric Segal, Harn Curator of Academic Programs. “As a professor within the College of Fine Arts at the University of Florida since 2001, I understand the demands of teaching and enjoy encouraging faculty to work the museum’s resources into their curricula.”

Eric Segal received his B.A. in Art History from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in Art History at the University of California, Los Angeles. Segal’s teaching and research focuses on American Art and extends from Colonial America to the modern United States. In addition to introductory courses in the history of art in America, he has taught advanced courses in American Art; visual culture studies (including popular illustration); African American art; the history and theory of collecting and museums; and methodology and theory in art history. He is putting the finishing touches on Illustrating Whiteness: J. C. Leyendecker, Norman Rockwell and The Saturday Evening Post, which has been accepted by the University of California Press, as well as a catalogue essay about Howard Pyle for the Delaware Art Museum.