Who’s Who in the Arts

Joanna Ziegler, Ph.D., professor and chair of visual arts

Joanna Ziegler, Ph.D., professor and chair of visual arts, will teach you how to see art, and beyond it. Ziegler teaches the history of art and architecture and advises students who plan to become architects. She has also developed the practice of contemplative seeing. This practice enables students to understand art deeply, but it also does far more. It is a way for people to come to know themselves better, confront their prejudices, and grow spiritually. “Holy Cross helped me become who I am, and I want to help my students do the same. The point is not just to teach them to design buildings, but to design their lives,” explains Ziegler. To encourage this kind of ethical reflection across the Holy Cross curriculum, Ziegler was recently named to the new endowed O’Rorke Professorship in the Liberal Arts.