RICHARD L HIGGS

Gallery, Exhibitions & Professional Practices Resume

(Excerpted from Comprehensive Curriculum Vitae)

Current: 1855 East Main Street

Suite 14, Box 306
Spartanburg, SC 29307
Future: 869 W 17th Ave
Eugene, OR 97402
Tel: (Cell) 262 271-2555
Email: richard.higgs@converse.edu
Email: rlhiggs7734@gmail.com

Gallery, Exhibition & Professional Practices Accomplishments

2010-Present

Inaugural Dean, School of the Arts (SOA): Converse College, Spartanburg, SC (early
retirement - 2015)
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2000-2008

Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs; Dean of Graduate Studies; Asst. to

President for Research, Assessment & Accreditation; Professor: Milwaukee Institute of
Art & Design; Milwaukee WI (early retirement 2008)
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1994-2000

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Designed, Implemented and Managed 2 Student and 1 Professional Gallery

Assistant Director School of Professional Arts; Chair Department of Design &

Interiors; Manager Student-Professional Gallery; Assistant Professor: John F. Kennedy
University; Orinda/San Francisco, CA
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1984-1990

Created New Student Art Gallery and Served as Faculty Mentor for Student Art Gallery Committee
Taught Contemporary Art Theory & Professional Practice
Visiting Member Program / Exhibitions Advisory Board for the Yellowstone Art Museum

Assistant Director: San Francisco School of Art (for Profit Educational Institution) ; Director
SFSA Gallery; San Francisco, CA
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1986-1990

Created & Implemented (2) Student Art Galleries for the University of Idaho Student Union and the New
University of Idaho Student Union Commons; Served on Student Union & Commons Exhibitions Committee
as Faculty Mentor for Student Gallery Committee
Member Campus Art Committee,
Taught Professional Practices,

Faculty Appointment as Visiting Assistant Professor: Montana State University;

Billings, MT
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1983-1992

Developed and Implemented 3 new Student and 1 Professional gallery (Design Programs Galleries, Student
Union Gallery, and Senior Exhibitions Gallery) as complements to 2 existing professional galleries
Oversight for Exhibitions Policy & Practices

Coordinator of Foundations Programs; Director of Student Union Student Gallery;

Associate Professor: University of Idaho, College of Art & Architecture; Moscow ID
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1992-1993

Developed & Implemented Student & Professional Exhibition Facilities, Scheduling & Professional Practices
Program; Teaching Senior Seminar / Senior Exhibition
Developed Campus Arts Policy (currently under review by college legal counsel) 2014
Developed & Implemented 1 new Student Gallery and 1 new Professional Gallery 2012-2-14

Developed Successful Final Year Design Business Program (Requiring Business Start-Up as Capstone
Activity)
Developed & Scheduled Exhibition Program
Managed Student & Professional Galleries
Coordinated Student and Faculty Participation Sales Program with Design Industry Merchandise Markets

Assistant Director Art-O-Mat Gallery; San Francisco, CA

Responsibilities: Budget Development & Management, Artist Contact & Contracting, Exhibition Calendar
Development, Installation & De-Installation of Exhibits, Marketing & Publicity, Train & Manage Interns,
o Staged and Marketed 10 solo exhibitions annually and 2 group exhibitions annually
o Sales in excess of $400K annually

Focused Curriculum Vitae

1982-1984

Richard L Higgs

Assistant Director CNA Gallery; San Francisco, CA

Responsibilities: Budget Development & Management, Artist Contact & Contracting, Exhibition Calendar
Development, Installation & De-Installation of Exhibits, Marketing & Publicity, Train & Manage Interns,
o Staged and Marketed 6 solo exhibitions annually and 6 group exhibitions annually, Managed Gallery Store
o Sales in excess of $250K Annually

1980-1986

Chair Department of Design & Interiors. Assistant to Owner/Director; Assistant

Professor: Western Design Institute; San Francisco, CA
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(1976-1980)

Created & Implemented WDI Professions Gallery Partnership with the San Francisco Merchandise Mart &
Scheduled Exhibition Calendar of Shows by Local & Regional Design Firms (Lighting, Furniture, Surface
Materials, Working & Perspective Drawings, Bath & Kitchens etc.)
Successfully Developed Extensive Cohort of Professional Designers / Companies to Support Internship
Program and placed Upper Level Undergraduates in Studio Internships

CEO/Proprietor of Personal Freelance Illustration & Design Business; San Francisco, California
Managed all phases of Freelance Business: Client Development, Project Contracting, Design, Pre-Press & Printer
Relations; Billing & Collections; Sold Business to Assume Full-time Appointment with Western Design Institute

1972-1976

Chair Department of Art; Gallery Director; Assistant Professor: Alverno College,

Milwaukee, WI
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Successfully Developed and Implemented Annual Gallery Schedule of Exhibits that received Radio,
Television, and Newspaper Reviews
Chair of Arts & Culture Competency Committee

Focused Vitae Statement

The listed items above are excerpted from my comprehensive Curriculum Vitae (attached). In most instances my
appointments have either included responsibilities for managing exhibition facilities and providing course work relating to
studio artist and designer professional practices. In some instances my appointment / hire has been as the Director,
Assistant Director or Manager of a Professional Gallery; occasionally these overlapped. Within this listing there are
represented practices that merge the role of gallery management and professional practices activities such as those linked
to my work with the Western Design Institute and the Professional Design program with John F. Kennedy University. In
this specific instance I initiated a professional relationship between our faculty and students with the primary outlet for
design production products; the Merchandise Markets open only to professional designers and their clientele.
My work in embedding professional practices within the learning experience process has led to development of courses,
grounded in the needs of the curriculum and faculty that would prepare students not just for entry level professional
access but provide them with the skills, abilities and marketing savvy to give them an advantage above their competitors
whether this was for graduate school acceptance, internship appointments, employment, business start-up or the pursuit of
a professional exhibitions career. I have drawn upon my own business experiences to connect students with the hard
actualities of the marketplace and show them how common as well as unique practices that are individually tailored can
provide access to their chosen profession.
My most recent professional practices course(s) were offered this past academic year for the Department of Art & Design
at Converse College. The umbrella for this course set is a website I created for the purpose of meeting the curricular
requirements of the NASAD accredited department and expressing the desire and understanding that the faculty in the
department wanted to see implemented in order to prepare their students for their future careers. I have also created as part
of the learning assessment process a second website which provides the goals, learning objectives and outcomes for the
School of the Arts departments, of which the Department of Art & Design is one. In this second website the assessment of
student learning reports are based upon review of formalized student exhibits and presentations that are examined by the
faculty so that the faculty can examine how well they are meeting their own determined goals and objectives.
Both sites are password protected and demonstrate what the faculty is looking for as well as how the students meet these
objectives through their personal exhibitions, professional documents, and personal websites.
TEACHING SITE URL: http://srseminarart414.weebly.com
ASSESSMENT SITE URL: http://soaslosprogram.weebly.com

Password: cleopatra
Passowrd: helenkeller