As Head of School Charlie White prepares to conclude his term at Carnegie Mellon University, students past and present share what his leadership has meant to our community.
In a year unlike any other, the 2021 School of Art Diploma Ceremony was never going to be business as usual. Logging in from home, the School community gathered over Zoom to celebrate students completing their degree programs at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Onto their screens appeared Charlie White, Head of School, and Sammi, a pink sock puppet with a plume of pale green hair.
“The Class of 2021 is this incredible class of students, and they’ve had a really challenging year,” White explained to Sammi. “I’m having a hard time finding that special something, that sparkle, that sunshine that I need to get in there and be positive about the ceremony.”
That’s when the music started. As a surprise for the entire school — and the family and friends virtually gathered together — the pair led a chorus of puppets in a rendition of “Rainbow Connection,” Kermit’s iconic song from the 1979 film The Muppet Movie.
One of those graduating students, Steven Montinar (BFA ’21), recalled his first interaction with White four years earlier. “I was working alone in the CFA drawing studio one morning and he happened to walk past,” Montinar said. “I heard him pause and turn around to see what I was working on.” It was the type of connection that White consummately sought to form with students. “Charlie has never been too busy to offer me advice, give me references for whatever artwork I was crafting, or just stop for a random insightful chat,” said Montinar. “Charlie was the first person to give me confidence as an artist.”
Since 2016, White has steered the Carnegie Mellon University School of Art with a singular blend of institutional rigor and personal care. This June, he will conclude his 10-year term to become the Dean of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.
“I am so proud of everything that we realized over these past ten years together,” White said in the announcement on April 27. “I feel prepared for the responsibilities I am stepping into thanks to all we’ve achieved and built here in the School of Art.”
Coco Allred (BFA ’20), whose first year as a student aligned with White’s own arrival at CMU, witnessed “his ability to attune across scales with rigor, both visionary and detail-oriented, building a school culture by knowing its collectives and individuals,” Allred said. “Charlie looks for ways to create conditions for connection, recognition, and care.”
Under White’s leadership, the School transformed its physical footprint, building a new graduate studio facility in the Hall of the Arts in 2020. In 2023, the MFA program achieved a fully funded model, ensuring that artists could pursue their practice regardless of financial background. This spring, U.S. News & World Report recognized the School of Art in a tie for the #2 Best Fine Arts Program, the highest ranking in the program’s history.
Facade of the MFA graduate student complex, housed within the Hall of the Arts building; MFA Class of 2021, photographed by Charlie White. The composite photo was created by photographing each graduate student individually in the Library at the Mellon Institute, with White directing virtually from home, due to the social distancing requirements during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rosabel Rosalind (MFA 2023) emphasized the personal touch behind these milestone achievements. “When I was a student he’d leave a challah in my studio on Shabbat, and drive us to Squirrel Hill for bagels in the middle of the school day. He’d always send me a message on the Jewish holidays that meant the most to me,” she said. “It made me feel so cared for and considered.”
White also spearheaded a major Undergraduate curricular redesign, including transforming the First-Year journey into a yearlong Foundations program. The 2026 seniors are graduating this May as the first class to experience the full, four-year path of the redesigned curriculum. “A healthy curriculum never stops changing,” White said. “The subject matter for what can be taught in art school should be the most nimble space of learning in academia.”
Stacey Cho (BFA ’24), who is currently pursuing graduate studies at Harvard, felt the impact of that nimbleness firsthand. “Charlie was there for my most pivotal moments,” she said. “He enthusiastically supported my first HCI conference trip to Portugal and encouraged me when I doubted myself. He taught me what a true educator looks like.”
Beyond the classroom, White championed the renovation of CMU’s historic Frame Gallery, ensuring students had a dedicated physical space to experiment. He was also a pivotal advocate behind the transition of the Miller Gallery into the ICA Pittsburgh, helping envision a contemporary institution that could rival the greatest university museums in the country.
White’s support for students also meant helping them make the leap into the professional world. “Charlie’s mentorship has truly shaped my college experience,” said Kate Myers (BFA ’26), who traveled with the School’s support to both the Telluride Film Festival Student Symposium and a multi-day workshop at Schell Sculpture Studio in Los Angeles. “I would not have had the means nor the ample opportunities to pursue a career in Special Effects if it were not for Charlie’s one-on-one mentorship.” Animator and 3D artist Leah Minsky (BFA ’23) put it this way: “I was lucky to have had someone like Charlie. Not only did he support me and my goals during school, he was also there to support me in my endeavors after.”
White’s approach is shaped by a life lived largely in and around art schools. His own path led from student to artist to teacher and administrator, beginning as a teenager at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts in the 1980s. Through more than 20 years of working and exhibiting internationally, White built a practice between creative worlds, spanning photography, film, animation, public events, popular entertainment, and documentary archives. “Charlie embodies so many facets of what it means to be both an artist and a staunch community leader, an advocate within a moment’s notice,” said Ester Petukhova (BFA ’23), “all while being the first to leap to the dance floor.”
Fall 2019 Welcome Party to celebrate the start of the new academic year; The School of Art Sweatshirt Collection, available on Bonfire.
In 2021, White debuted his first alumni commission for the School’s artist-designed t-shirt, a community-oriented initiative that every year invites an artist to transform a crewneck into a limited-edition work of art. In 2026, the School celebrated this tradition by reissuing the designs as a collection of hoodie sweatshirts, which many will recognize as White’s own style signature.
Then, of course, there’s his actual signature — how White often signs off his correspondence: “Warmly, Charlie.” It’s a sentiment that perhaps best of all encompasses his accessibility to and respect for the people who have passed within the School’s walls over the last 10 years. It is a signature of a leader who views his role with a full heart, a fellow explorer in pursuit of the rainbow.
Thank you, Charlie, for everything.
Warmly,
The School of Art