Weissman School of Arts and Sciences Dean Aldemaro Romero Jr. Named to ICFAD Board of Directors

Board members champion the creative arts as essential to the future success of higher education institutions

March 23, 2018

The International Council of Fine Arts Deans (ICFAD) named Baruch College’s Aldemaro Romero Jr., PhD, Dean of the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, as a new board member for 2018. Dean Romero will serve a two-year term for the only organization that focuses exclusively on issues that impact deans and associate deans of all creative areas in higher education including fine and performing arts, arts education, art history, architecture and communication.

Since 1964, the ICFAD strives to provide a foundation that allows arts administrators to do their jobs better and to expand their circle of contacts with people who share common challenges and experiences. The ICFAD provides professional development opportunities and facilitates forums for the exchange of ideas, information, and issues of common concern to strategically advance the importance of the arts in higher education. The organization’s board of directors is comprised of deans and arts executives from colleges throughout the U.S.

From Scientist to Art Collector

Dr. Romero became Dean of the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College in July 2016. He also is a professor of biology at Baruch.

Before coming to Baruch, Dr. Romero was dean and professor of the College of Arts and Sciences at Southern Illinois University from 2009 to 2014. Prior to this, he served as chairman and professor of the Department of Biological Sciences at Arkansas State University from 2003 to 2009. Previously, from 1998 to 2003, Romero was director and associate professor of the Environmental Studies Program at Macalester College in Minnesota.

During his academic career, Dr. Romero has published more than 1,000 pieces, including more than 20 books and monographs, and hundreds of articles in both peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed publications, newspapers and magazines. His academic interests range from environmental and evolutionary biology, marine biology, history, and philosophy of science, science communication, and higher education. Additionally, Dr. Romero has been the recipient of numerous grants and prizes for his scientific research and communication work.

Dr. Romero and his wife, Ana Romero, are avid collectors of self-taught art, who have traveled throughout Latin America. Their collection contains more than 50 paintings, sculptures, and examples of other crafts. The materials used in these artworks are diverse, and include oil paint on canvas, lithography, papier-mâché, bark, and wood. The Romero collection spans more than four decades, from the 1970s to the present, and it represents many countries: Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela.

Dr. Romero received his Ph.D. in biology from the University of Miami, Florida, and obtained an undergraduate degree in biology with a concentration in zoology from the University of Barcelona. Currently, he writes a weekly syndicated column called “Letters from Academia” and has produced and hosted a weekly video bog called “The Romero Report”, both analyzing higher education issues.

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