Anna Hillary selected as Writing and Humanities full-time faculty

Anna Hillary

The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) welcomes Anna Hillary as the new full-time Assistant Professor of Writing and Humanities following a national search. Completing her PhD in International Education this spring at New York University, Hillary’s focus on art activism, extensive service involvement and experience researching student activism and organizing study abroad experiences in Buenos Aires made her one of the standout candidates.

“My teaching philosophy is student-centered and community-oriented,” explains Hillary. “I work hard to advance students’ artistic, academic and professional skills, support their creativity, explore their roles in the community and encourage them to think critically. Listening to my students and colleagues, and learning from them, is really important to me.”

A strong advocate for students and community, Hillary will assist with MIAD’s robust service learning program. “I’ve found that the most meaningful lessons relate in some way to my students’ lives and what’s going on in the world, and often emerge out of collaboration and engagement with the surrounding communities,” she continues. “As a result, service learning has been an important part of my teaching.”

Students in Hillary’s writing and humanities classes can expect an engaged, responsive learning experience. “Throughout my career as an educator, I’ve tailored my lessons to be responsive to what I learn about students’ interests, goals, backgrounds, and learning styles. At MIAD, I plan to get to know each student and their artistic practices so I can be sure the classes I teach are relevant to them. I hope to initiate an ongoing dialogue with my students that encourages them to engage their own curiosity and make connections between the writing and humanities course content and their own experiences,” Hillary says.

“MIAD students, faculty, staff and administration are tremendously impressive, and you can feel it the minute you walk through the front door. The learning community at MIAD is particularly collaborative and collegial; the faculty, staff and administration are passionate, caring, and work closely with the students,” continues Hillary. “I really believe in MIAD’s ethos of kindness and community. I see it being enacted every day, and I can’t wait to be a part of that. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be, and I hope to contribute meaningfully to the MIAD community which I see as deeply integrated—it’s critical, creative and supportive of students’ identities, interests and professional goals.”

Learn more about MIAD’s Liberal Studies and Service Learning!