Pinnell appointed president of NCECA
calendar icon02 Oct 2018
Lincoln, Neb.--Professor of Art Peter Pinnell will be the next president of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA).
Pinnell will be joining Holly Hanessian, professor of art at Florida State University and current president, in the spring of 2019 to begin a four-year presidential cycle that includes one year as president elect, two years as president and a final year as past president.
Pinnell is a longtime contributor to the NCECA conference and has participated as a featured demonstrating artist, a juror for the Student Juried Exhibition, as well as other shows, panels and lectures.
Pinnell served as chair of the School of Art, Art History & Design from 2011-2016. He joined the faculty at Nebraska in 1995. During that time, he and his colleagues have built a nationally recognized ceramics program. US News & World Report ranks the University of Nebraska–Lincoln graduate ceramics program as the 9th best in the country.
Pinnell earned a B.A. in music from Columbia College in Missouri, his B.F.A. with honors from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and his M.F.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Pinnell researches the history and aesthetics of ceramics, which informs both his creative work, as well as his teaching. He has spoken on these topics at a number of major ceramics conferences, including the NCECA and Utilitarian Clay. He has published articles in Ceramics Monthly, Studio Potter and Ceramics Art & Perception, and his column, "As far as I know..." has appeared in Clay Times magazine since 1997.
“NCECA currently has between 4,000 and 5,000 members, so I consider it a great honor to be chosen by the NCECA board to lead the organization and help plan its future,” Pinnell said. “I’ve benefitted enormously from the conferences and publications that NCECA provides, and so have my students. I hope that in doing this, I can benefit the members of the organization, as well as the students at Nebraska. As president of the NCECA, I will be able to cast an even brighter light on what we do at Nebraska, and I’ll also be able to bring home knowledge and experience that will help our students to thrive professionally.”