Leadership

 

Stephen Halko
Interim Dean

Stephen Halko accepted a full-time tenure track position at KCAD in 2009, and in 2014 became the Chair of both the MFA and BFA Drawing programs. As a faculty member he served KCAD as Vice President of the Kendall Faculty Association from 2015 until becoming Interim Dean of Academic Affairs in 2019. In the fall of 2021, he accepted the position of Dean of Academic Affairs and served in that role until 2025 when he was appointed Interim Dean of the college.

Dean Halko lead successful accreditation renewals from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), and the National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB). His leadership was instrumental in the formation of new programs at KCAD including the First Year Experience Foundations, Product Design, and Studio Arts, as well as the Natural Science Illustration Certificate. He has assisted with the formation of articulation agreements for KCAD with both regional community colleges and universities.

Dean Halko demonstrates a commitment to inclusivity and belonging as an inaugural member of KCAD’s President’s Equity Council; his work with Ferris State University’s Hispanic/Latino Cultural Center’s PROMESA Summer Success program; completing the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Institute for Healing Racism, and the Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center’s LGBTQ Foundations, Level IV: Make NOISE education for leaders; among many other trainings and certificates. He has volunteered as a one-on-one English as a Second Language literacy coach at the Literacy Center of West Michigan. In 2022, he received a Citation of Merit for his contributions to Ferris State University’s Re-entry and Vaccine and Testing Committees.

Dean Halko's works have appeared in publications, solo, group, and invitational exhibition formats both nationally and internationally. In 2016, he was invited to speak about his work at multiple schools and museums in Shanghai, China. In addition to lecturing, he participated in a collaborative performance with artist YouZhang Chen at the Shanghai Oil Painting and Sculpture Institute, SPSI Art Museum.

Stephen holds a BFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY, and both an MFA and Post-Baccalaureate Degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) in Philadelphia, PA. Prior to teaching at KCAD, he taught at Stockton University in Galloway, NJ; Lincoln University of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in Lincoln University, PA; and in the Young Artists Workshop at Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia.