Welcome, New Faculty and Staff

We are proud to welcome several new full-time faculty and staff members for the 2026-27 academic year.

School of Art

James A. Enos is an interdisciplinary artist and educator whose work centers on public-facing scholarship at the intersection of community, culture and the built environment. As an associate professor at the University of Georgia, he has led foundational Core programs in addition to having developed longstanding international collaborative projects. Enos is excited and humbled to work with TCU’s exceptional faculty to further enhance the reach and impact of their incredible work.

Hayley Woodward's research explores Indigenous visual communication, place- and mapmaking, history-writing, materiality and artistic practice in Mesoamerica and 16th-century New Spain. Her scholarship has been supported by fellowships at the Getty Research Institute, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and the Newberry Library, and she will hold the H. and T. King Fellowship in Ancient American Art and Culture from the American Council of Learned Societies during the 2026–2027 academic year. She is currently completing her first book, which examines the writing and revision of history through a remarkable painted manuscript from colonial Mexico. Woodward is excited to join the TCU Fine Arts community.

School for Classical and Contemporary Dance

Sarah Newton, Instructor II in the School for Classical & Contemporary Dance, has been teaching at TCU for 17 years. She is a performer, choreographer, and educator, and is deeply invested in the study of human anatomy as it relates to enhancing movement and has presented workshops on dance anatomy across the U.S.

Department of Design

Emily Gilmore is a proud Horned Frog and an interior and architectural lighting designer with nearly 20 years of professional design and leadership experience. Her portfolio spans corporate, residential, hospitality, education and institutional projects, with experience across all phases of the design process. A former adjunct faculty member, Gilmore brings her industry expertise to the classroom as she joins TCU's Department of Design full-time.

Fashion Merchandising

Erin Tillery joins TCU as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Fashion Merchandising. With degrees spanning technology management, engineering and fashion design, her interdisciplinary research explores technical and electronic textiles, wearable technology for human performance and innovation systems. At TCU, Tillery will contribute to the university’s growing research initiatives and support the development of a new Ph.D. program in Advanced Softgoods, bringing together technology, design and innovation to advance the field’s future.

School of Music

Pianist-composer Jiyoun Chung creates music that reflects her Korean American identity by integrating diverse cultural influences, drawing inspiration from East Asian culture and religion alongside a wide range of musical traditions. Her work has received numerous distinctions and awards and is regularly featured at international festivals and concerts. Chung brings both an internationally recognized creative practice and a deep commitment to teaching music theory and composition to TCU.

Ryan Lindveit is a composer whose music draws inspiration from nature, art, science, technology and personal experience to create colorful, emotionally vivid musical journeys. His catalog includes works for orchestra, wind ensemble, chamber ensembles, soloists, voice, electronics and visual media, and his compositions have been commissioned and performed by distinguished ensembles including the Minnesota Orchestra, Akropolis Reed Quintet, "The President's Own" U.S. Marine Band, the U.S. Navy Concert Band, the New York Youth Symphony and the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra. A dedicated teacher of music theory and composition, Lindveit joins TCU from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he received the 2025 Outstanding Faculty Creative/Scholarly Achievement Award.

Jennifer Munro Miller joins the School of Music as Academic Program Specialist after nine years as the administrator for the Visual Studies Research Institute at the University of Southern California. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in art history at USC and has extensive administrative, research, advising and curriculum experience. Miller is excited to contribute to the vibrant fine arts community at TCU.

A proud TCU alumna, Rachel Stephens earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree from TCU in 2018. Following eight years as the percussion director for Springtown ISD, she is excited to return to campus and serve the TCU School of Music in this new role.

Department of Theatre

Beki Baker joins TCU as chair of the Department of Theatre following more than 22 years of experience in higher education and professional theatre. An accomplished director, she has collaborated with companies including Nashville Repertory Theatre and the Nashville Shakespeare Festival, while building a career dedicated to artistic excellence, student mentorship and academic leadership. Baker looks forward to returning to her home state of Texas and guiding the continued success and growth of TCU's nationally recognized Department of Theatre.

Julia Phipps is a graduate of the Theatre TCU class of 2011. She has been working professionally in theatre and higher education as an actress, singer, stage manager and admin, moving from Fort Worth to Austin and finally to Crawfordsville, Indiana, where she worked at Wabash College for the last six years. In her spare time, Phipps designs board games with her husband Adam and is a mom to rambunctious 5-year-old Isaac. She is excited to return back to her alma mater after 15 years and revisit the memories sweet and comrades true.