Troy, N.Y. - Kathy High, associate professor of video and new media, has been named chair of the Arts Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

"Kathy High brings worldly experience and faculty expertise to this critical administrative position as the department continues to progress to the next level in its innovative approach of fusing art, technology, science, and innovation," said John Harrington, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

"The Arts Department at Rensselaer is dedicated to providing students with a broad spectrum of opportunities to pursue interdisciplinary creative research and artistic development in digital audio and video mediums, computer imaging, animation, virtual reality, Web design, and multimedia installation and performances," added Harrington.

Prior to joining Rensselaer's faculty in 2002, High taught video production at several universities, including Princeton University and Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. She earned her master's degree in video and film at the State University of New York at Buffalo and her bachelor's degree with a dual major in fine arts and English literature at Colgate University.

For more than 20 years, High has specialized in documentary and experimental video. Much of her work has focused on medical ethics and women's health issues. She also documents animal behavior.

Her work has been shown in festivals, galleries, and museums nationally and abroad, including at the Berlin Film Festival, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum, and on PBS television. High also is founder and editor of FELIX: A Journal of Media Arts and Communication, geared toward alternative film and video makers.

As new arts chair, High said priorities for her department include continuing to develop a Ph.D. program in electronic arts. She also is interested in working with researchers in Rensselaer's Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, which will open in September, to explore ways to integrate science and technology into the arts to increase awareness and understanding of biotechnology and other science and technology-based disciplines.

Contact: Jodi Ackerman
Phone: (518) 276-6531
E-mail: N/A