Lynne Allen Named Interim Dean of College of Fine Arts
CFA professor will serve until a successor to Dean Harvey Young is chosen
Lynne Allen will become interim dean of Boston University’s College of Fine Arts for the second time starting July 1. Photo by Michael Rotiroti
Lynne Allen Named Interim Dean of College of Fine Arts
CFA professor will serve until a successor to Dean Harvey Young is chosen
This article was originally published in BU Today on May 21, 2026. By Joel Brown
EXCERPT
When Harvey Young steps down at the end of June after eight years as the dean of the College of Fine Arts, Lynne Allen will step up as interim dean—for the second time. Allen, professor of art, printmaking, chair of print media and photography, and former director of the School of Visual Arts, also served as interim dean in 2015–2017, when she was Young’s immediate predecessor.
“Serving as interim dean nearly 10 years ago was a responsibility I took very seriously, and I approach this opportunity with the same commitment,” Allen says.
“I’m humbled and honored by the confidence placed in me and by the opportunity to work alongside the many talented people at CFA,” she says, noting that her ties to many people in the dean’s office and in all three schools will pave her way in the job, which she will begin July 1.
Allen says that the position requires someone who will work hard to prepare the way for the next dean. “Harvey’s done a lot in these eight years he’s been dean, and I want to maintain his programs and grow them,” she says, noting in particular his initiative to provide research funding for faculty.
At the same time, Allen will continue to teach in the Print Media & Photography program. “With two of my colleagues in the visual arts, we built this program. We are in our fourth cohort of students, and I don’t want to give that up,” she says, adding: “I also think you can’t really be a good leader if you don’t know what the students are thinking.”
Allen is an internationally recognized artist and scholar in printmaking and contemporary art, exhibiting around the world. Her work is included in the collections of major institutions, such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Library of Congress, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, among many others. You can see her work on her website.