Academy for Creative Endeavors Launches to Advance Creative Excellence at Purdue
This fall, the College of Liberal Arts will launch the Academy for Creative Endeavors (ACE), a new initiative designed to elevate the visibility, impact, and support of creative scholarship across the College of Liberal Arts and Purdue University. The Academy reflects a longstanding commitment within the college to champion the work of artists, performers, designers, writers, and other creative scholars whose contributions enrich human understanding and strengthen Purdue's reputation as a comprehensive research university.
ACE is positioned to be catalyst of innovative and exciting creative work at Purdue. The Academy will advance new projects, encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, expand opportunities for external funding, and create new pathways for sharing creative scholarship with the broader university and public audiences. Through fellowships, grants, awards, and signature events, ACE aims to showcase how creativity drives discovery, innovation, and cultural impact while helping bring Purdue's creative accomplishments to local, national, and international communities.
To lead this effort, Dean Christopher Yeomans appointed F. Robert Sabol to serve as the Academy's inaugural director. Sabol brings extensive experience as a nationally recognized scholar, educator, and advocate for the arts. He is associate head and CLA dean's professor in the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Design, Art, and Performance, a professor of art and design and art education, and a former leader within the National Art Education Association. His distinguished career includes more than 340 scholarly presentations, significant external grant support, more than 100 publications, and multiple awards recognizing excellence in research, teaching, and leadership in the arts.
During Spring 2026, Sabol led a planning committee charged with developing the Academy's vision, structure, and initial programming. The committee included Eli Craven (associate professor of photography, integrated studio arts, Rich Dionne (chair and professor of practice, theater, Brian Leung, professor of English), and Barbara Young (associate professor of interior design, representing a diverse range of creative disciplines within the college. Together, they have been mapping the Academy's planned activities and identifying opportunities to strengthen support for Purdue's creative community.
ACE will officially launch with a public event in Fall 2026, marking the beginning of a new chapter in Purdue's investment in creative scholarship and its commitment to bringing the transformative power of the arts to a wider audience.