sheila rae neal

As an enthusiastic, competent, and qualified educator, I am dedicated and committed to teaching students in the Graphic Design and New Media program at SUNY Potsdam. My exceptional teaching, service, research, and creative activities represent my commitment as a scholar educator. I am thrilled to be part of a superb teaching community. In the Art Department, I teach courses for the Graphic Design and New Media program, and am also the Curriculum Coordinator for the Graphic Design and New Media program. I teach several core courses including Graphic Design and Media Arts 1, Typography, Digital Illustration and Imaging, and the Graphic Design Internship. I also coordinate, supervise, and assist students with procuring internships. My responsibilities include developing courses. I developed Digital Illustration and Imaging II, a course which uses digital 3D modeling software. I also developed History of Graphic Design and Graphic Design for Non Majors, courses which helped fulfill previous voids in the curriculum. For General Education division, I developed a WAYS 103 course, CGI and Identity, which had an enrollment of 26 students. In 2023 I earned my Ph.D. in Visual Arts: Philosophy, Aesthetics, and Art Theory, with the completion of my dissertation, Post-Feminism, Philosophy, And The Aesthetics Of Comic Book Characters from the Institute for Doctoral Studies in Visual Arts. Prior to this, I earned my Master of Fine Arts degree in Illustration from the University of Hartford in 2010; my Masters of Arts degree in Illustration from Syracuse University in 2008; and my Bachelor of Science degree in Graphic Design, with a minor in Advertising, from San Jose State University in 1988. These achievements demonstrate my commitment to research and scholarly work as well as my professional development and personal growth. In addition to my experience in higher education, I have also over 25 years of professional experience working as a professional graphic designer, and continue to practice and exhibit as a working artist. I was a staff artist in the editorial department of The Press & Sun Bulletin, where my illustration work was published in the daily newspaper. I own a registered trademark copyright for an ongoing comic strip published for five years in a daily newspaper. And, I was an in-house graphic designer and illustrator for a Binghamton, New York marketing company, Enjoy the City, producing fundraising coupon books and servicing multiple clients. I am a highly experienced educator, and prior to working at SUNY Potsdam, I taught as a lecturer at SUNY Cobleskill in the Graphic Design program, and an adjunct for several other colleges including SUNY Polytechnic, Mohawk Valley Community College, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute (Pratt in Utica), Cazenovia College, and ITT Technical Institute. In the past seven years, I have become a community member of SUNY Potsdam, which has been both inviting and welcoming. I have participated in many celebrations, get-togethers, and shared meals with the Art Department faculty at local area restaurants such as Jake’s on the Water, Maxfield’s, and Foster the Plant, to name a few. I have graciously attended holiday dinners and parties hosted in faculty homes, and have been able to reciprocate the hospitality, having had Art Department faculty in my home. These examples demonstrate my commitment to collegiality and willingness to work together with my colleagues to build a strong community. In addition to fostering positive, transparent and open communication with my colleagues, I am dedicated to service. Serving as Faculty Senate Secretary, Chair of the Graduate Affairs Committee, and Advisor to two student campus clubs, I am also a member of the University Faculty Senate Communications Committee and attended three University Faculty Senate conferences in 2024. For the past two years, I have served as a member of the Associated Colleges of St. Lawrence Valley committee, assisted with planning the Annual Teaching Effectiveness Conference and presenting at the 2024 conference. I served as a member of the Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee; and, in the local Potsdam area, served as a volunteer and Vice President on the board for the St. Lawrence Arts Council. For the North Country Children’s Museum, I served as a volunteer graphic designer for a book titled, Out and About, by Kendall Taylor. I created all of the graphic design work for the book including photography, illustrating maps and graphics, and coordinating the final printing. The book sold in Kinney Drugs and on Amazon, and the proceeds went to the museum. I also created all the graphic design work for the 2025 Annual Report for the University Faculty Senate, printed in the Fall of 2025. I did all of the graphic design work for the 2023 Alumni Art exhibition for the Gibson Gallery. Most recently, I created all of the flyers, signs, and conference program for the 2025 Associated Colleges Teaching Effectiveness Conference. Along with my commitment to service, I am an accomplished artist. My art was featured in two exhibitions in New York City, at two different art galleries in Midtown Manhattan. My paintings were included in the digital exhibition, Sprung 8, at Arthouse.NYC in New York City, and my work was included in an exhibition at the David DuPuy Studios. My paintings were also exhibited during the Spring 2024 Faculty Art Exhibition in the Gibson Gallery.