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Dr. Kirsten Olds

Olds named associate provost for the arts, OSU Museum of Art director

Friday, January 31, 2025

Media Contact: Jeff Hopper | Communications and Media Relations Manager | 405-744-5827 | jeff.hopper@okstate.edu

Dr. Kirsten Olds has been named the inaugural associate provost for the arts and Marilynn and Carl Thoma professor, as well as the director of the Oklahoma State University Museum of Art.

Olds was selected after a thorough recruitment process by a search committee headed by Dr. Jennifer Borland, director for the Center for the Humanities and professor in the Department of Art, Graphic Design and Art History. The committee included representatives from across academic colleges, The McKnight Center and outside advisory groups. 

“I'm very excited to have someone with Dr. Olds' experience, knowledge and enthusiasm as the new director of the Museum of Art and the inaugural associate provost for the arts and Thoma professor,” said Dr. Chris Francisco, senior vice provost for academic affairs and professor of mathematics. “Olds has demonstrated an ability to think broadly about the arts and how we can continue to create innovative arts experiences for our students and community. OSU has so many great resources in the arts, both on campus and off, and Dr. Olds is the ideal person to help them flourish.”

Olds earned her bachelor’s degree in art history from Columbia University in 2000. From there, she continued her education, earning her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan in 2004 and 2009, respectively.

Olds has served in many roles surrounding arts and humanities throughout her career. She directed two interdisciplinary programs, an undergraduate degree in arts, culture and entertainment management, and a graduate program in museum science and management. She also is an art historian and curator of modern and contemporary art.

She has spent the last 15 years at the University of Tulsa in various roles, both as a professor and administrator. She has served as an associate dean, senior associate dean and, most recently, as the interim dean for the Kendall College of Arts and Sciences.

Despite her love of TU, Olds saw this newly formed position as an opportunity “too good to pass up.”

“The combination of the positions of director of the art museum and the associate provost position is a unique opportunity to be very involved in shaping what the next decade-plus looks like from an arts perspective for OSU and the Stillwater community,” Olds said. “OSU’s land-grant mission was also a big draw for me. I’m excited about finding ways to impact our communities and I believe the arts are an integral part of that ethos.”

The associate provost of the arts and Thoma professorship creation demonstrates OSU’s continuing commitment to providing enriching arts experiences to students, the Stillwater community and beyond. 

“We have a lot of great things going on in the arts in many different areas, and we have thought for some time that it would be great to have someone coordinate these efforts and help bring the campus arts community together to collaborate on initiatives, providing meaningful arts experiences for all our students and for the state,” Francisco said. “With the opening at the OSU Museum of Art, we were able to elevate the director position to include a campuswide arts role, too. As associate provost, Dr. Olds will provide a vision for the arts at OSU and serve as an important advocate as we implement the ‘We Are Land-Grant Strategy.’ The arts have a big role to play both in the curricular and co-curricular spheres, especially with ongoing work in reforming general education and on the Ideal Graduate initiative.”

Olds will begin her role on Feb. 1 and is prepared to learn from the OSU and Stillwater community about what the needs are pertaining to the arts and how OSU can leverage its existing community in collaboration with newly developed programs to elevate OSU’s status both within the surrounding communities and across the country.

“The first order of business is to work with museum staff, faculty and community and other stakeholders to come up with a strategic plan,” Olds said. “I believe that the initiatives and programs that experience the most success are built upon ideas that everyone feels are important and are excited about. I think it will be imperative to start this process with a lot of listening for those ideas and then taking action to develop them. I look forward to OSU’s art community growing beyond campus and making it more than a part of Stillwater, but an active member in the community.”

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