Faculty and Staff Features

Michael Bell is a sculptor and educator based in Jacksonville, Florida. Currently serving as a lecturer and studio technician at the University of North Florida (UNF), Michael teaches courses on professional practices while managing the university's digital FabLab and ceramics area. His role also involves mentoring emerging artists and fostering innovation in both traditional and modern fabrication techniques. 

Michael earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of North Florida in 2011. Building on his foundation in the arts, he earned an MFA from the University of Kentucky, graduating in 2018. Throughout his academic and professional career, Michael has developed a signature sculptural style that thoughtfully integrates natural and industrial materials such as wood, steel, and found objects. His works delve into the conceptual interplay between humankind and the natural environment, exploring themes of connection, conflict, and coexistence. 

In his creative practice, Michael seeks to push boundaries by merging traditional craftsmanship with contemporary digital fabrication technologies. This interdisciplinary approach not only reflects his artistic vision but also informs his teaching, as he inspires students to experiment and innovate in their own practices.

Trevor Dunn studied sculpture and ceramics at the University of South Florida. After graduating he moved to Durango, Colorado to set up a studio where he built a small anagama kiln and pursued his interest in wood-fired ceramics. In 1999 Trevor joined the faculty at San Juan College to teach ceramics and sculpture until 2006. In 2009 he earned his MFA degree in ceramics from Utah State University.

Trevor has lectured internationally and led workshops around the country in wood firing, salt/soda firing, and kiln building.  His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions and is held in public and private collections. In 2009 he received the NCECA Graduate Student Fellowship Award for research and film project in Jianxi, China. He is currently an associate professor of ceramics at the University of North Florida.

Learn More: www.trevortdunn.com 

Instagram: @trevortdunn

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Isabella Arrazola is a graphic designer, researcher, and educator based in Jacksonville, Florida. Her areas of design and research interest intersect human-centered design, data visualization, and exploring the juxtapositions of design and culture through visual essays. She has over a decade of professional experience in brand identity, advertising, social media strategy, packaging, and textile design. 

Arrazola holds an M.F.A. in Design and Visual Communications from the University of Florida. At UF, she collaborated with researchers at the International Center and Center for African Studies to develop infographics and motion graphics to showcase research outcomes. At UNF, she teaches at the junior and senior levels, using a hands-on, experiential approach to guide students toward sustainable, research-oriented design solutions.

Portfolio: https://isabellaarrazola.myportfolio.com/

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Dave Begley is a seasoned designer and Associate Professor of Graphic Design, currently serving as the Program Coordinator for the Limited Access Graphic Design program. With over 20 years of teaching experience, he brings a wealth of knowledge to the classroom while also maintaining an active design practice. Begley works with national clients across various industries, staying at the forefront of design trends and practice. His courses emphasize key areas of expertise, including Brand Development, Typography, Poster Design, and Layout, ensuring that students gain practical, real-world skills in the ever-evolving design landscape.

Beyond his teaching, Begley is deeply involved in the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), where he serves as an expert reviewer, evaluating accreditation materials for other institutions. His expertise extends into research, with a particular focus on the design, marketing, and advertising of the craft beer industry. He regularly presents his findings at national conferences, contributing to the growing body of knowledge in this niche sector of design.

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Beth Nabi is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design who specializes in teaching such subjects as type communication, publication design, graphic design history, design for social good, and design creativity. She majored in English at the University of Florida before earning her MFA in Graphic Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design. 

Nabi’s teaching approach emphasizes creating transformational learning opportunities, including programs in London and New York City—in which students engage with the cities’ rich art and design cultures and interact with influential figures in contemporary graphic design. 

Her academic work centers on an examination of graphic design in the context of popular culture — specifically, visual identity, branding, and fan culture. Nabi is the creator of the U2 Tattoo Project, an international curation and study that explores Irish rock band U2’s visual identities, marketing, and branding through fan tattoos. The project has traveled to four continents and 15 countries to document fans, has exhibited at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and Sphere in Las Vegas, and has been featured multiple times on the band’s official website. Her work is included in two official U2 publications: U2: The Complete Lyrics Vol. 1, 1979–1988, and U2: The Complete Lyrics Vol. 2, 1991–2023. 

Outside of teaching, Nabi pursues concert photography, capturing the energy of live performances, particularly those of U2 and Harry Styles. She transforms these images into bespoke designs, blending her expertise in design and visual storytelling with her passion for music culture.

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 Shailja Patel is a graphic design educator with a diverse background spanning advertising, marketing, UX design, UX research, and business strategy. She has contributed to projects for renowned brands such as Google Pay, the Google Privacy Team, Deloitte, Royal Caribbean, Asian Paints, and Reliance. Passionate about collaboration, she thrives on creating guidelines, frameworks, and systems that serve as strong foundations for developing impactful products and services.

As an educator, Shailja brings this same passion into her teaching, guiding students in their early stages to build a strong foundation by refining their thought processes and approaching design beyond aesthetics through critical analysis of its functionality. She fosters an engaging and interactive classroom environment, encouraging open discussions that help students explore and justify their design decisions.

Shailja holds degrees in Graphic Design from MAAER’S MIT, Pune, and Design Management from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She is currently advancing her thesis work to publish a UX data privacy framework that helps teams integrate privacy practices into the UX design process.

Claudia Scaff is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design. She holds an M.F.A. in Graphic Design from Iowa State University and a B.A. in Industrial Design from Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado in São Paulo, Brazil. Claudia has worked as a designer for multinational corporations, while also maintaining a creative practice that serves local clients and nonprofit organizations. Both her classes and her study abroad programs to her native Brazil feature collaborations with nonprofits, integrating their design needs into the classroom by creating branding, advertising, and promotional campaigns.

These partnerships have provided students with valuable professional development opportunities, allowing them to showcase their work and build professional relationships. Claudia’s research has been published in international journals and presented at both national and international conferences. Her areas of research and creative interests include graphic design practice and education, sustainability, package design, and Brazilian design.

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Born in 1980 in Detroit, Michigan, Jason John grew up in Northeastern Pennsylvania. He received a BFA in painting from Kutztown University and an MFA in painting and drawing from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He also studied at The Waichulis Studio (now called Ani Art Academies). 

Jason has been affiliated with Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA and Arcadia Gallery in New York and Los Angeles.  He is currently represented by 33 Contemporary Gallery in Miami, FL. Jason’s work has been on the front covers of Blue Canvas Magazine, Art Calendar, Poets and Artists Magazine, Visual Arts Overture Magazine, and Weave Magazine.  Jason’s work has been featured in American Arts Quarterly, American Art Collector Magazine, Manifest Gallery’s International Painting books 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, Studio Visit Magazine, Creative Quarterly Magazine, Create Magazine, and Aesthetica Magazine.  Jason participated in the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville’s exhibition ‘Get Real’, curated by Ben Thompson and was included in the Huntsville Museum of Art’s exhibition, Red Clay Survey. In 2024, Jason won first prize in the Alexandria Museum of Art’s Annual Juried Competition. Jason has participated in 100 exhibitions throughout the world in the last 10 years.  Jason is now Associate Professor at University of North Florida.

Learn More: https://jasonjohnart.com

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Deborah. S. McKinney is an award-winning designer and seasoned educator with experience as an art director, graphic designer, illustrator and teacher. She is one of the founding members and past president of the AIGA Jacksonville Chapter. She earned her BA in Visual Communication from Florida State University and Masters degree in Illustration from Syracuse University. A lifelong learner, she has taught on the university level for decades as a visitor and part-time professor. She earned a 12-Who-Care award and Jefferson Medal from the American Institute for Public Service for her work with the Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless. She is a multifaceted designer who has written and illustrated books, is a closet cartoonist and an accomplished photographer as well as a product designer. She has exhibited her work at various galleries. As owner and CEO of McKinney Levine Studio, Inc., Deborah continues to create, publish and contribute to the world of Visual Communication.  

Learn more: http://mckinneylevinestudio.com/ 

Instagram: @debomck 

Facebook: Deborah S. McKinney 

Nikki Rakov was born in Virginia but grew up in North Florida and now resides in St. Augustine, Florida. She earned her M.F.A. in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design and a Master of Education from the University of North Florida. With over 26 years of teaching experience, Nikki is passionate about inspiring others through her work as an art educator. 

As a painter, Nikki works in acrylic, oil, watercolor, and drawing media, layering them to create visions of a mysterious world. Her paintings feature figures and animals interpreted from dreams, visions, and reference photographs, woven into ethereal and haunting landscapes. Inspired by folk magic, mythology, and family history, her work seeks to restore agency to women who, as spiritual intermediaries, moved between worlds, concealing their truth in the shadows. The landscape itself holds secrets and ancient wisdom; and by engaging with these liminal spaces, she taps into their essence, forging a dialogue between past and present. Through her work, she honors the resilience of women who have shaped spiritual traditions, by reclaiming their legacy and reasserting the mystical power that defines them. 

Nikki teaches Drawing at the University of North Florida. She divides her time between teaching, working in her studio and planning research travel to Europe to further explore the history of magic and its ties to the landscape.  

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Jacob Z. Wan is a contemporary bookbinder who creates mixed-media conceptual books to celebrate the importance of oneself. He was a finalist for the 2022 MCBA Prize and his books have been collected by many universities and museum collections. He holds an MFA from the University of Central Florida, and he has exhibited at the Florida Biennial, Art Fields, International Art of the Book show, and internationally. Wan moved to the USA from China in 2014, and currently, he teaches at the University of North Florida.

Learn More: www.jacobzwan.com 

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Marisa Yow is a multidisciplinary artist and educator whose work explores memory, identity, and human experience through painting, drawing, and mixed media. She holds an MFA from The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and dual degrees in Painting & Drawing and Art History from Florida State University. 

"I always loved art—it was something I could claim as mine; the only place I felt I had a voice." 

Yow’s paintings mainly focus on large-scale figurative works, bearing marks that are instinctual, bold, and lush. Her drawings are often smaller in scale, offering intimacy and warmth. Her instinctual mark-making and unconventional compositions invite viewers to engage beyond the surface, exploring themes of implied narratives.  

A Visiting Artist at the University of North Florida and adjunct at Florida State College at Jacksonville, Yow teaches Figure Drawing, Painting, Drawing, Studio, and Arts in Humanities. She developed "Drawing Jacksonville," a course connecting local history to on-site drawing experiences, and mentors students in professional practices. She was a finalist for FSCJ’s Adjunct of the Year (2024) and a nominee for UNF’s Outstanding Adjunct (2025). She has also been named one of Jacksonville’s Top Nine Best Painting and Drawing Instructors by Expertise.com. 

Outside the classroom, Yow is a board member and committee member at CoRK Arts District, where she maintains her studio and helps organize North Florida’s largest open studio event. Previously, she served as Gallery Director at The Red Door Gallery in Tallahassee, creating exhibition opportunities and fostering community engagement. As an independent artist and studio owner, she manages commissions, workshops, and creative collaborations—and is currently working on a collaborative exhibition set to open in Barcelona in 2026. 

Yow’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the BFAS 50th Anniversary Show, the ACQR Art Show in London, and group shows at Jacksonville MOCA and The Cummer Museum. Her work is held private collections in Germany, Spain, South America and in the US in the Yves Piccu Collection and the Florida State University Permanent Collection. 

Teaching Philosophy: "I aim to be the instructor I needed as a student—someone who encourages individuality and helps artists find their unique visual voice. In my classroom, I want students to feel empowered to take creative risks, explore their own stories, and see their work as part of a broader conversation in the arts." 

Learn More: http://www.marisayow.com/ 

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David Fenner – Professor of Philosophy and Art - joined UNF as a visiting assistant professor in 1992. In 1995-96 he was moved to a tenure track line but spent that year as Visiting Fellow of Moral Philosophy at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. In 2001 he earned tenure; in 2008 he was promoted to professor; in 2010 he was elected Distinguished Professor by the faculty. He served as interim chair of the Philosophy Department, dean of the Graduate School, associate dean of Arts & Sciences, and president of the Faculty Association.

Alexander Diaz is an Associate Professor of Photography at the University of North Florida. Diaz’s artwork is a marriage of documentary photography and conceptual art. He utilizes photography to express his concerns and to comment on environmental issues, consumerism, religion, and the particulars of place. His work has been exhibited at many institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art/Jacksonville, Norton Museum of Art, and Mobile Museum of Art.

Learn More: https://alexdiazphoto.com

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Christopher W. Trice is an Assistant Professor of Photography in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design; he joined the UNF faculty in 2010. Raised in northwest Alabama, Trice earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, followed by a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has over twenty years of experience teaching photography and digital imaging, and was a recipient of the UNF Faculty Association Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award  in 2023. His research interests include intersections of personal and cultural histories, American popular culture, Italian cinema, and historic photographic processes.

Learn More: www.cwtrice.com

Sheila Goloborotko has sustained a restless, relentless auto-ethnographic multidisciplinary practice that allows singular ideas to emerge in the guise of numerous artistic actions. The resulting works transgress the boundaries of mediums and employ symbols of transience, impermanence, and stasis—the Life and Death of natural systems—founding documents, language, and democracy. She weaves these subject matters—an amalgamation of our human connection and collective history—to create single pieces that often develop into groupings—changeable, shifting, active, unsettled. The work demands a mixture of unconscious and highly personal resonances from the viewer: it is cathartic, honest, self-searching; complex, and yet easily accessible, direct. It invites us to find meaning and to engage in important questions about our relationship with nature, information, and one another.

Recent presentations of her work have been held at Florida Prize for Contemporary Art at the Orlando Museum (2024); Florida Biennial at the Art and Culture Center, Hollywood, FL (2022); International Print Center of New York, New York, NY (2022); Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville, FL (2020); Zuckerman Museum of Art, Kennesaw, GA (2020); Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, NY (2020); Harnett Museum of Art, Richmond, VA (2019); Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ (2018); Museu da Diversidade, São Paulo, Brazil (2017); Centro Cultural Atarazanas, Veracruz, Mexico (2016); Museus Castro Maia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2006); and Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (2004).

 Her work is included in the permanent collections of the Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art (ZMA) at Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA; Florean Museum, Baia Mare,  Romania; Mashida Museum, Tokyo, Japan; Museo del Grabado, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Museu Douro, Peso da Régua, Portugal; Munson Williams Proctor Institute, Utica, NY; Port Authority of New York, New York, NY; San Francisco Modern Art Museum, San Francisco, LA; Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD; The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; The New York Public Library, New York, NY; University of Sharjah Collection, Sarjah, United Arab Emirates; Yale Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, New Haven, CT, among several permanent collections in museums in Brazil.

Goloborotko was a recipient of an Art Ventures Community Foundation Grant (2022), International Fine Art Print Dealers Association Grant (2021), and the New Yok Foundations for the Arts (2012). She was an artist-in-residence at the Moving the Margins in Jacksonville (2021), and at the Tamarind Institute (2015). She was nominated for a Joan Mitchell Foundation Fellowship (2023). She earned an MFA from Brooklyn College in 1985.

Learn More: www.goloborotko.com

Instagram: @goloborotko

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Andrew Kozlowski is an artist and educator based in Jacksonville FL.  His work expands printmaking encompassing prints, workshops, mail art, comics, zines,  community engagement, and publishing.

He has been a faculty member at the University of North Florida since 2017.  His work has been featured in numerous group and solo exhibitions including solo shows at ArtSpace in Raleigh NC, 1708 Gallery in Richmond VA, and Yellow House Gallery in Jacksonville.  His work has been part of publications including Swing Literary Journal, Saw Palm Literary Journal, and the Hand Magazine.  In 2023 he was awarded a Art Ventures Individual Artist grant by the Community Foundation of North East Florida.  He also helps organize the Duval Comics and Zines fest- an annual showcase of local, regional, and national talent focused on self publishing that regularly attracts thousands of guests.

Learn More: https://andrewkozlowski.com

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Jenny K. Hager is Chair of the Department of Art, Art History, and Design and a Professor of Sculpture at the University of North Florida. Inspired by dreams and curiosities, Hager’s work emphasizes collaboration and community. Her art has been shown internationally, with exhibitions in Germany, Poland, Wales, Latvia, and Italy, as well as large-scale projects across the U.S., including a 20-foot giraffe for the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.

Since moving to Jacksonville in 2006, Hager, collaboratively with Lance Vickery,  has installed over 90 sculptures in the city. In 2014, she founded Sculpture Walk Jax, a nonprofit bringing outdoor sculpture to public spaces. She also directs the UNF Seaside Sculpture Park, showcasing student work annually.

Learn More: www.jennykhager.com www.havicstudios.org

Instagram: @jennae76   @havic_studios

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Aisling Millar was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1982 and immigrated to the Vero Beach, FL in August 1994. She moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 2000 to attend the University of North Florida. In 2005 she graduated with Bachelors of Arts in Education and in 2011 she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics and Sculpture. She received her MFA in Sculpture from East Carolina University in 2014. Aisling was the Instructor of Record at East Carolina University while working towards her MFA. She is currently a Visiting Instructor in Sculpture at the University of North Florida. She has worked for many arts organizations within the Jacksonville community including: Duval County Public Schools, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Cathedral Arts Project, the Ponte Vedra Cultural Center, Art with a Heart at Wolfon Children’s Hospital, and the Foundation Academy. 

Aisling has completed public sculpture commissions locally for the City of Amelia Island, the City of Atlantic Beach, the Jax Chamber, Community Hospice Alice and T. O'Neal Douglas Center for Caring at Baptist Medical Center downtown, the Jacksonville Jaguars Miller Electric Performance Center, along with many private businesses.  In 2020, Aisling was the recipient of an Art Ventures Grant from the Community Foundation and in 2024 she received an Individual Artist Grant from the City of Jacksonville and the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville.  Her work is also in public collections in Greenville, NC, and Macon, GA.  She creates outdoor steel sculpture that are exhibited throughout the eastern United States. Along with sculpture, Aisling also creates cast iron wall hangings, ceramic sculptures and mosaics for both public and private commissions.

Lance Vickery is an Associate Professor of Sculpture at the University of North Florida and practicing sculptor. Lance uses his digital fabrication knowledge balanced by his traditional fabrication experience to create distinctive sculptures tailored to intent and attuned to space. He has designed, built, and installed numerous large-scale public sculptures around the country, including Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi. These works range in materials and concepts, from wood to stainless steel and from nonrepresentational to figurative.

Lance has a collaborative studio practice (Havic Studios) with his partner in all things, Jenny K. Hager. Team Havic ethos is a synergistic creative practice. Jenny and Lance inform each other in design and execution, playing off each other's strengths and passions. This has produced a diverse aesthetic and skillset that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Learn More: https://havic.org/

Instagram: @havic_studios

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Ian Carey received his BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago and his MFA in Painting and Drawing from Illinois State University. He also earned a BAS in Anthropology and Political Science from the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana. Ian has taught painting, drawing, and Museum Studies courses at Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University, and California State Polytechnic Humboldt. He has served as the Merwin and Wakeley Galleries director at Illinois Wesleyan University and, most recently, as the Permanent Art Collection Curator at Indiana State University, teaching Political Philosophy and Museum Studies coursework. Ian is a working artist and has had the opportunity to exhibit his work nationally and internationally. His underlying teaching philosophy attempts to integrate primary resources and the exhibition programming he creates into unique learning experiences for his students, highlighting the complexity of contemporary art and how it informs our understanding of our everyday lives.

Learn More: https://iantcarey.com

For 25 years, I have been employed with UNF.  The original Art, Art History & Design, was part of the Department of Communications & Visual Arts.  In 2004, the 2 departments separated, and AAH&D became the Department of Art & Design. 

I have seen UNF grow from one road that ended by building 6, to the massive campus it is today.  The original boathouse was here, plenty of wildlife would roam on the trails and you could borrow a typewriter from the bookstore to work on term papers. The art studios were in trailers and the department was in building 3 along with Music and a very small police department. It cost 10 cents for tolls to get off from JTB to come to campus. 

I graduated in 2000 with my B.F.A. in Painting/Drawing.  The education I received under the guidance of Professor Emeritus Paul Ladnier and Professor Emeritus Louise Freshman Brown set me up on the path to be successful in receiving grants, commissions and entries into juried exhibitions.

Quinn's photography focuses on capturing and presenting nature's most admirable moments in a way that pushes us to view the world in a brighter, more positive way. His nature driven work celebrates the natural world around us, with the goal to comprehend the importance of conservation of these natural places. In nature one can find oneself, creating a reflection of who one is. It’s an escape into paradise wherever that may be, and it's a root for inspiration and creativity. 

Learn More: https://www.qlephotography.com/

After starting her professional career in the media, Jennifer discovered that her true passion is elsewhere. Although she valued the experience gained in the fast-paced world of broadcast news, her love for the arts ultimately drew her back to the creative community. Eager to reconnect with her artistic roots, she made the decision to leave the newsroom and return to the art world.

Jennifer began her academic journey as an art major before earning a Bachelor of Science in Communication with a minor in Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking from the University of North Florida in 2018.  She now thrives as an integral part of UNF’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design.

In her role as Administrative Assistant, Jennifer provides essential support to faculty, staff, and students. She is responsible for assisting with departmental operations, coordinating events, assisting with exhibitions, and ensuring the smooth day-to-day functioning of the department. Her background in both communication and the arts allow her to bridge the gap between organizational strategy and artistic vision.

Jennifer’s deep connection to the arts has inspired her to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) at the University of North Florida, focusing on expanding her artistic skills and deepening her knowledge of different art practices.

Outside of work and her studies, Jennifer enjoys singing and exploring Jacksonville’s vibrant art scene, attending gallery openings, and experimenting with new painting and drawing techniques. She is passionate about fostering creativity and collaboration within the campus community and beyond.