When Jill Ennis used to walk into Kendall Phillips’ class during her time as a graduate student in Syracuse University’s communication and rhetorical studies program, she was usually greeted with the sound of AC/DC.

Ennis, now a communication and rhetorical studies adjunct professor, and other colleagues of Phillips said they are looking forward to the same quirky approach he brought as a professor in his new position as an associate dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Phillips was appointed associate dean of research and graduate studies of VPA, as announced Thursday in an SU news release. He said he has already begun preparing for the job, which he will officially begin July 1.

As an associate dean, Phillips will work to promote research projects with faculty, help find grants and try to keep graduate programs current, he said.

Phillips will continue to act as chair of communications and rhetorical studies until he officially begins his new job. He described the days leading up to his appointment in July as hectic, but he said he is looking forward to future plans.

‘It’s a forward-looking position, trying to find new opportunities and move the college forward,’ Phillips said.

The position was created in response to a need for someone behind the scenes, Phillips said. VPA Dean Ann Clarke ‘couldn’t be both leading and backing the college,’ he said.

‘I always fear that when you’re in an institution that’s doing well, sometimes you stop looking at it,’ Phillips said. ‘You stop assessing it and looking at how to do things differently or ways to do things better. So one of the big challenges and opportunities for us is to take a hard look at the graduate program across the college and ask if we are still on the cutting edge.’

Phillips said he has enjoyed reaching out to students and colleagues as a professor, but as an associate dean, he knows this will be harder to do. He said he plans to continue teaching one class and is looking to find ways to communicate with the 2,000-plus students in VPA as means of revolutionizing the graduate program.

‘The biggest thing for us is to start connecting dots — to have the industrial designer talking to the music composition person,’ Phillips said. ‘And that seems like a weird conversation, but sometimes those are exactly the conversations that yield really exciting new ideas.’

An ease connecting with different areas of VPA was one factor Phillips said he thought made him a good candidate for the job. He said he has worked with multiple units within VPA, which will allow him to bring some familiarity to the table.

Phillips’ background includes research and writing that has looked at comic books, public memory and political speeches. He was the 2007-08 recipient of SU’s Chancellor’s Award as University Teacher/Scholar of the Year and is the host of ‘Classic Movie Night’ on WCNY.

Eileen Schell, associate professor of writing and rhetoric and the writing program director, said Phillips has a real ability to communicate with people from many different areas.

‘He’s almost like a showman,’ Schell said. ‘He’s able to really bring a lot of energy to everything he does, whether he’s teaching a class or leading a colloquium.’

Schell said Phillips would do well with fundraising, interacting with the public and sparking dialogues about uncommon academic subjects.

‘He’ll be somebody who can bring people together around crucial issues,’ Schell said. ‘He’s somebody who thinks outside the box about academia and brings a lot of excitement and public interest to his role. So I think this new dean role that he’ll have will be an opportunity for (VPA) to expand its reach.’

dkmcbrid@syr.edu

Published on March 2, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Dara: dkmcbrid@syr.edu | @daramcbride