Wanda Knight

  • Professor of Art Education, African American Studies, and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

30C Borland

Wanda Knight

Biography

Wanda B. Knight, Ph.D., is a Professor of Art Education and Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies and Professor-in-Charge of Art Education. Besides university level teaching both online and in residence, she has taught all grade levels (PreK–12), in vastly different locations‚ counting rural, urban, suburban, and United States Department of Defense schools‚ in both the United States and overseas. She has also served as a principal of both elementary and secondary public schools and as registrar and curator of an art museum. Moreover, she teaches, presents, and leads workshops and seminars that foster diversity and support fair, ethical, and inclusive teaching and learning environments.

Serving as an expert diversity consultant to educational organizations, businesses, and a Fortune 500 Company, her teaching, research, and leadership knowledge and skills are informed through global travels and from scholarly pursuits that have allowed her to cross borders of technologies, disciplines, and institutions. Dr. Knight serves on the National Art Education Council for Policy Studies, is past president of the United States Society for Education through Art (USSEA) and is past chair of the National Art Education Association Committee on Multiethnic Concerns (COMC).

A previous editor of the Journal of Social Theory in Art Education, co-editor of a special issue of SchoolArts Magazine, and guest editor of Visual Arts Research, her work concerning teacher education, culturally competent teaching, diversity and inclusion, social justice, and educational equity is published widely and her extensive presentations span national and international locations including Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, and other locations‚ incorporating keynote presentations sponsored by universities, cultural institutions, and national and international associations. Moreover, she has received funding for her research from local, state, and international organizations, including the Pennsylvania State University, The Ohio State University, The Pennsylvania Department of Education, The Getty Foundation, The Annenberg Foundation, and Phi Delta Kappa International, among others. Her honors include the Pennsylvania Art Education Association Outstanding Higher Education Art Educator Award, the NAEA J. Eugene Grigsby Jr. Award for outstanding contributions to the field of art education and the Kenneth Marantz Distinguished Alumni Award from The Ohio State University, where she earned her Ph.D.