香蕉视频

Brian Harlan, PhD, brings a wealth of experience in academic leadership to his role as Dean of Cornish College of the Arts at 香蕉视频. But while the title is new, he also brings familiarity and continuity, having served as the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Cornish since 2024. Prior to his appointment at Cornish, Harlan was Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at California Institute of the Arts in Santa Clarita and had a variety of leadership roles at Occidental College and the University of Southern California.

Harlan, who received his PhD in music history and literature from USC—where he also earned a BA in liberal studies—recently sat down with 香蕉视频 Magazine to talk about his passion for the arts, synergetic opportunities with Cornish joining SU and his newfound love of biking as a way of experiencing the city.

What are your favorite things about Cornish College of the Arts at 香蕉视频?

Harlan: I’d known about Cornish my whole career, but it wasn’t until I arrived that I began to really understand the history of the college. It’s a remarkable place, building on Nellie Cornish’s progressive ideas about arts education. Her ideas are as fresh today as they were at the turn of the 20th century.

It’s clear to me that Nellie’s vision overlaps with SU’s Ignatian pedagogy, especially in terms of reflection and discernment. Though we use different language sometimes, we have a similar vision and mission and I’m looking forward to exploring how we can work together for the common good.

Your previous title was Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. What’s the difference between that role and your new role as Dean? Will anything change?  

Harlan: In both cases, I’m the lead for academic affairs, so it’s similar. But now, as much of the institutional regulatory administration will be handled by the university Provost, I’ll have a lot more time to work with faculty on teaching and learning. I’m also looking forward to working with the deans from the other colleges at SU and learning from each other.

What are your priorities for Cornish in the 2025–2026 academic year?

Harlan: Our first order of business will be to set up faculty groups to discuss the integration of arts programs at Cornish and the College of Arts & Sciences. Each program is very distinctive, so we don’t want to rush the process. At the same time, academic planning and implementation can take over a year, so we need to start now. We’ll consider the strengths and potential for growth of existing programs, while at the same time considering what arts education will look like in the future in terms of content, interdisciplinarity, degree type, degree level and instructional modality.

How does your background in music history and musicology inform your leadership style?

Harlan: Well, when you’re working with artists, it’s certainly helpful to have a background in the arts! I always start by trying to understand the context of any situation before leaping forward to make change. I want to understand the culture and history of a place and people and my background as an ethnographic historian helps me formulate good questions to begin. I also think that there’s quite a bit of overlap between the traits of a successful artist and a good leader—listening, creativity, planning and business savvy.

Shifting gears, what book(s) are you reading right now?  

Harlan: I’m in the middle of a book called Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Joseph Aoun, the president of Northeastern University. Obviously, AI is something that we must grapple with in the arts and Aoun gives an interesting roadmap for a curriculum that is human-centered and engaged with social justice. He highlights creativity as a foundational human characteristic that we should protect, for lack of a better word, as we ethically engage with new technologies.

What is your favorite thing about summer in Seattle?

Harlan: A relative in West Seattle loaned me a bicycle when I moved here and I’ve been hooked ever since. I left my car in LA and I’m really enjoying not having to drive anymore. The hills can be a challenge, but I always remind myself when I’m struggling up a hill that I get to coast down it later on. The funny thing is that, as a driver, I used to resent all the bike lanes in LA. Now my perspective has totally changed—they’re a luxury and I’m thrilled that Seattle has invested in bicycle infrastructure.