Montana State University has announced Dean Adams as the institution’s next dean of the College of Arts and Architecture. Adams will take up the new position on July 1st, where he will oversee 1,100 students across schools of architecture, art, music, film, and photography.

Adams was chosen for the role following an interview process that included meetings with faculty, administrators, and students. Members of the public were also invited to participate in open forums and submit comments online.

“As the newly appointed dean of the College of Arts and Architecture at Montana State University, I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to help lead a community of students, faculty, and staff who are dedicated to advancing our understanding of what it means to be human through studio-based learning, critical studies, creative practices, and public engagement,” Adams said in a statement following the announcement.

Adams’ appointment as dean is the latest step in the educator’s long connection with Montana State University. Having received his bachelor’s degree in art from the institution in 1992, Adams completed a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa in 1995 with an emphasis on ceramics and drawing.

Adams returned to MSU in 2001 as an adjunct instructor before becoming an assistant professor in 2010. In 2017, he became associate dean and was acting dean for roughly eight months in 2019.

Adams’ announcement as dean is the latest in a series of appointments for high-level positions in U.S. architecture schools. This week, the University of Pennsylvania appointed Rossana Hu as its Architecture Chair, while last week, the Kansas State College of Architecture, Planning & Design named Michael McClure as its new dean. April also saw the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee create a new 'College of the Arts and Architecture' with Mo Zell as interim dean.

Last month, former AIA President Peter Exley was appointed the Architecture Dean of the Robert Gordon University’s Scott Sutherland School, while Catherine Seavitt Nordenson was named as chair of the Landscape Architecture Department at the Weitzman School of Design.