Benjamin E. Juarez Named Dean of Boston University's College of Fine Arts

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Jun 16, 2010, 08:00 ET

Mexican composer, producer, educator takes post August 1

BOSTON, June 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Benjamin E. Juarez, director of culture, technology and development at the Dr. Jose Maria Luis Mora Research Institute for social sciences, history and culture in Mexico, today has been named dean of Boston University's College of Fine Arts (CFA) announced BU President Dr. Robert A. Brown.

"Benjamin brings to Boston University an impressive spectrum of experience as an artist and leader in the performing and visual arts, a passion for creating a world-renowned conservatory, and a vision for the role of the arts in the fabric of a modern research university," said Brown. "I have great optimism for the future of the College of Fine Arts under his leadership."

Juarez's forward technological thinking, coupled with his vast knowledge of the world of arts and his administrative experience in academia, will advance fine arts education at BU.

"The brightest students in the world come to Boston — from India, Turkey, Mexico, China, from everywhere and it's important, from the arts, that they see their cultures somehow reflected in what we may call the canon," said Juarez. "It's not that all the art is done by white males that were alive until the late 19th century. The other axis is technology. With social tools, the I-Pad, broadcasting high-definition media from anywhere, the live-stream camera, you can do things that before only CBS or NBC could do with a remote unit that cost millions of dollars. We have to take advantage of both the richness of diversity and the use of technology to train our students to build themselves a different paradigm."

Prior to being appointed dean, Juarez directed the Centro Nacional de las Artes, Mexico's national arts center, running professional schools in music, dance, arts, theater and film, research centers, the organization's TV channel, and more than 20 theaters and performing spaces.

Juarez received his B.A. in 1969 from Centro Universitario Mexico; a master's of fine arts in music from the California Institute of the Arts in 1973; and a certificate in business administration from Universidad Anahuac del Sur in 2002.

The Boston University College of Fine Arts was created in 1954 to bring together the School of Music, the School of Theatre, and the School of Visual Arts.

SOURCE Boston University