Office of Undergraduate Studies

Meet your Undergraduate Studies team

Learn about who we are, what we do, and how we can help you navigate the Undergraduate Studies programs at MICA.

Who We Are

Portrait of Mina Cheon in black blouse

Mina Cheon

Dean of Undergraduate Studies Mina Cheon (천민정) was born in Seoul, South Korea and lives and works in Baltimore, New York, and Seoul. She received her PhD in Philosophy of Media and Communications from the European Graduate School, European University for Interdisciplinary Studies, Switzerland; MFA in Imaging Digital Arts from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; MFA from the Hoffberger School of Painting, MICA; and BFA in Painting from Ewha Womans University (EWHA), Seoul, Korea. Cheon has been a Full-time Professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) since 2004, teaching first-year experience, interactive media, art history, and humanistic studies. Before stepping into her current role as Dean, she served as Associate Dean of First Year Experience (FYE). She has also been active in international education. She was a visiting professor and lecturer at EWHA and a mentor of Art-Uni-On, a global mentorship network by Hyundai Co. and the Seoul National University College of Fine Arts. She was awarded the 2010 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Unity Week Award at MICA for her efforts promoting cultural diversity within and beyond her college. She also directed the MICA Korea summer abroad exchange program between 2004-2007, an intercultural and interdisciplinary art and design program in partnership with different universities of Korea including Hongik University, Korean University of Arts, and EWHA. She continued and advanced international art and design education at EWHA’s art and design, and global affairs departments for the next decade during the summers. Cheon is the author of Shamanism + Cyberspace (Atropos Press, 2009), was a contributor for ArtUS, Wolgan Misool, New York Arts Magazine, Artist Organized Art, and served on the Board of Directors of the New Media Caucus of the College Art Association. She also was Associate Editor of the academic journal Media-N where she contributed critical essays covering SeMA Mediacity Seoul Biennale 2016 and the Venice Biennale 2017. As an artist, Cheon is a new media artist and global activist best known for her “Polipop” art (political pop art) and has exhibited internationally, including at the Inaugural Asia Society Triennial 2020-2021, Busan Biennale 2018, American University Museum (solo show “Haunted Koreas” in 2022), and Sungkok Art Museum. Her work is in the collections of the Baltimore Museum of Art, Smith College Museum of Art, and Seoul Museum of Art. She is represented by the Ethan Cohen Gallery in New York and works with a sister gallery Kate Shin Waterfall Mansion and Gallery in New York.

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Sonja Kelley

Sonja Kelley

Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies Sonja Kelley is also a former Chair and current faculty member of the Department of the History of Art, Design and Visual Culture at MICA. Her teaching and research focus on the visual culture of East Asia. She teaches classes on the history of Asian art, with a particular focus on China and Japan. Her research primarily explores the visual culture of China in the modern and contemporary periods, considering the interaction of art and politics in the conceptualization of the nation and its citizens. Her current book project examines the work of government-supported printmakers in Sichuan Province in the People's Republic of China from 1949 to 1966. She is also interested in cross-cultural influences in Chinese visual culture and the treatment of gender, race, and ethnicity in Chinese art. She holds a Ph.D. in Art and Archaeology from Princeton University and a B.A. in Art History from the University of Texas at Austin. Before coming to MICA, she was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota and had also been an instructor at the University of Washington in Seattle and Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.

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Alison McNamara

Alison is the Program Coordinator for the Illustration Program. She studied Fine Art at Goldsmiths University College of London and lives in Baltimore.

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David Taylor

David is the Program Coordinator for Interdisciplinary Sculpture, Fibers, Ceramics, Architectural Design, Product Design and Interactive Arts programs. He oversees event coordination and administrative tasks for the Mt. Royal Station and Dolphin Design Center.

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Jay Ireland

Jay Ireland is the Program Coordinator for the FYE program. He grew up in Louisiana where he got his B.A. in History and B.S. in Political Science. He lives a quiet life with his partner and 3 dogs.

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Kathryn Freeman

Kathryn is a Baltimore native and spontaneous world traveller. She graduated from Lebanon Valley College, '16 where she studied Art History. Shortly after graduation, she moved to The Bronx to attend Sotheby's Institute of Art - NY, '17, where she received her Masters degree in Art Business. Her hobbies include reading, writing, traveling, and watching Chinese & Turkish Period Pieces. In her current role, she's a Program Coordinator for Animation, Game Design, and Graphic Design. Her daily motto is "We Do It For The Students".

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Zakia Alomari

Zakia (she/her), also known as Z, is the Program Coordinator for the Office of Undergraduate Studies and the Liberal Arts Division. She has great experience in office administration, collegiate student activities, and event planning. She is a native of Richmond, VA, and received a BA in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Virginia. She's interested in storytelling, community art, music production, horror, and talking about surveillance. She's done independent film work with friends, and feels called to support collaborative processes of creating art when she can. She feels creating with friends is a great reminder of the healing and connective power of art.

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