Dr. Thomas Linehan
- Founder of the Arts and Technology (ATEC) program
- Director of the Institute for Interactive Arts and Engineering
- Arts and Humanities Distinguished Chair (Former)
Mrs. Eugene McDermott’s donation in August 2004 created the chair, which Linehan assumed in September 2007. The position supports the educational and research activities of an internationally recognized scholar in arts and humanities.
“UT Dallas students are the smartest I’ve taught. Most of them write very well, so it gives me great hope that the stories of the future will come out of this generation.”
Dr. Thomas Linehan is the founder of the Arts and Technology (ATEC) program and the director of the Institute for Interactive Arts and Engineering at UT Dallas. He has a background in both corporate management and educational administration. He has served as a college president, a corporate vice president, an associate dean, a research laboratory director, a professor and a public school teacher.
Before arriving at UT Dallas in 2002, Linehan was president of The Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Fla. There he directed successful ventures in selective enrollment increases, consensus-based strategic planning, faculty governance reform, housing and instructional facilities construction and increased corporate collaboration.
As senior vice president of CRSS Architects, a world-wide design firm (400 architects and 15 offices), he managed a number of major corporate units and implemented the company’s early entrance into advanced computer-based design and computer visualization. Linehan has experience in research and educational planning in technology and the arts.
He has developed several premiere degree programs in media arts technology, including Ohio State University’s Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design, Texas A&M University’s Visualization Laboratory and The Ringling School of Art and Design’s Computer Animation Program. Each of these programs provides an advanced computing environment in support of an industry-relevant education. Linehan has served as a consultant in the development of similar programs in The Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand and Canada.
Linehan has a master’s degree and a doctorate in art education/computer animation from The Ohio State University.