Leadership in the Department of Theatre
Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce that Associate Professor Valleri Robinson will be the next head of the Department of Theatre, pending Board of Trustees approval. This appointment comes after extensive consultation with Theatre faculty and staff. She will serve as department head for a three-year term.
Dr. Valleri Robinson joined the Theatre faculty in 2006 after teaching at the University of Arizona. She currently serves as the director of graduate studies and teaches courses in documentary theatre, Chekhov in translation and adaptation, theatre historiography, and 21st century dramaturgy. Valleri holds affiliate faculty positions in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center.
A long record of leadership has prepared Valleri well for this role, including service at department, college, and campus level in key strategic roles on matters spanning curriculum, research, budget oversight, strategy, and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. She comes with the support and trust of her colleagues within and without Theatre, who have come to depend on Valleri’s counsel for insight, expertise, and fair-minded attention to the multiplicity of voices at hand for any matter.
Valleri’s areas of research include Belarusian diasporic theatre and performance, Russian-American cultural exchange, and Chekhov in adaptation, and earned her such prestigious opportunities as a 2020 resident fellowship at NYU’s Center for Ballet and the Arts. She received a Fulbright award to work with Nikolai Kolyada at the Kolyada Theatre in Ekaterinburg, Russia in 2014 and is currently writing the book, Belarusian Theatre and the 2020 Pro-Democracy Protests: Documenting the Resistance (under contract with Anthem Press). In addition to her research, she has worked as a professional dramaturg with many companies and playwrights across the country.
As department head, Dr. Robinson will work closely with the Producer of Illinois Theatre Lisa Gaye Dixon and will also join the FAA Administrative Council in the work of leading the college.
Please join me in welcoming Valleri to this new leadership role in Theatre.
Kevin Hamilton
Professor and Dean