 Becker will be moving on to head the Columbia University's School of the Arts in New York City in the fall. She corresponded with F News via email from Rome about her new position, what she'll miss about SAIC, and what Chicago needs to do to become a great art city.
interview by Natalie Edwards |
| Q. |
What precipitated your move? |
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| A. |
I have never looked for another job. Several wonderful jobs have been offered to me during the course of my time at the School but I never felt it was the right time to leave, nor was I pulled to leave by the new institution or the city I would be living in. Columbia came after me in a very sane and pointed way and no matter what obstacles I put in their path, they just kept insisting that they could overcome them. They wanted me to head the School of the Arts, to build it and they were willing to give me resources for the School of the Arts to do that up front. And, it was the right time for me to go home to New York, my other home, and to a large university where my own intellectual development began and where it might continue in unimaginable ways. it was just the right place at the right time and also, of course, my sense that my work at the School was almost complete. SAIC has shaped my entire life for so long, I just thought it was time to shake that up a bit. But it was never for lack of love for this institution or my belief that it is the best art school in the country. It was just that after 28 years, it was time for a change. |
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