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Stephanie Newton headshot

Stephanie Newton

Department Chair - Visual and Performing Arts
Professor, Art History

Educational Background


Master’s of Art: Art History & Museum Studies, University of Denver, 2010

  • Dissertation: James Turrell and the Northern Romantic Tradition

Bachelor’s of Visual Art, emphasis Art History, University of Northern Colorado, 2001.

  • Visual Arts Scholar of the Year 2001
  • Additional graduate level coursework 2001-2007: non-degree seeking

Professional Background

I have been teaching art appreciation and art history courses at the collegiate level since 2005. I spent several years working weekends at the Denver Art Museum in their education department, where I received immersion in facilitating hands-on activities with visitors to the museum. As a graduate student, I worked as an intern in their Photography Department, reporting to and mentored by the Curator of Photography. I have taught at Aims since 2005, and also taught at CSU for five years, including a stint as the assistant to the Director in their University Museum in 2014-2015. I also know how to make a great cappuccino and find rare books thanks to a long-haul position in a local beloved coffee shop and (sadly defunct) attached bookstore. 

As a scholar, I am a generalist; I love it all! I have been widely trained in artistic traditions from around the world. I do have a particular soft spot for anything coming out of renaissance Italy, book arts, and photography. I am really interested in the intersections between Art History and Science, especially the technological development of media, like printmaking, oil paint, optics & photography/motion film. Medical history is also fascinating to me.

Personal Interests

Reading (mainly fiction for fun), independent book and music stores, science-fiction and fantasy, cooking good food (and eating it), a lovely sky, witty conversation, dogs, a nice café that’s not too loud, strong black coffee, stand-up comedy, sunbathing, and consensual bear-hugs.