Jennifer Olmsted appointed chair of James Pearson Duffy Department of Art, Art History, and Design

Following an internal search, Jennifer Olmsted, Ph.D., has been appointed chair of Wayne State University's James Pearson Duffy Department of Art, Art History, and Design. Her appointment begins Aug. 18.

Currently, Olmsted is a professor of art history and associate chair of the department in WSU's College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts.

"I would like to thank every member of the search committee, led by Department of Music Chair Dr. Jeffrey Sposato," said Kelly Young, interim chair of the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts. "I would also like to thank Lauren Kalman for serving as chair of the Department of Art, Art History, and Design. Her contributions will play a key role in facilitating a smooth transition."

As associate chair, she serves as undergraduate officer and responsible for resolving student concerns. Prior to this appointment, Olmsted served as assessment coordinator and chair of the graduate committee. She is also a member of the Services to the Historians of the Visual Arts Committee.

Her teaching and research interests include European art, architecture, and design from the 18th and 19th centuries; art and memory; portraiture; and art that emerges from the intersection of trade, colonialism, and cross-cultural exchange in the Mediterranean world.

Olmsted is the author of the book Delacroix's Moroccans: Art and Masculinity (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2025), which received a WSU Board of Governors Faculty Recognition Award. She has also published a wide range of book chapters and articles on mid-19th century French art, the art of Eugène Delacroix, and Orientalism.

Her research is supported at WSU by a multitude of grants that include: the University Research Grant, President's Research Enhancement Program in the Arts, two CFPCA Creative Research Grants, an Arts and Humanities Research Program Grant, along with a Humanities Center Faculty Fellowship. She has also received research grants from the American Philosophical Society and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.

Olmsted holds a Ph.D. in art history from Northwestern University, an M.A. in art history from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a B.A. in art history from Bryn Mawr College.