Elissa Tenny

Elissa Tenny (born 1953) is an American academic and educator and the fifteenth President of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). She is also the first woman to hold the title of President at SAIC, despite its 150-year history.

Elissa Tenny
15th President of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
In office July 2016 – May 2024
Succeeded by	Jiseon Lee Isbara
Personal details
Born	1953
Education	Stockton University (BA) University of Pennsylvania (MA, Doctor of Education)

SAIC history

Founded in 1866, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a top-ranked art and design college and was named the "most influential art school in the United States" in Columbia University's Art Critics National Arts Journalism Survey. It was revealed in a 2020 F Newsmagazine article that Tenny was the second-most highly paid individual in the AIC system, earning around $711,000 annually - second only to the Museum's President, James Rondeau.

Education and career

Tenny received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Stockton University in 1975, a Master of Arts in Media Studies from The New School in 1977, and a Doctor of Education from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007. She started her career in education while attending the New School, eventually holding positions of Acting Dean (1998–2001) and Vice Dean (2001–02). From 2002 to 2010, she was Provost and Dean at Bennington College, joining SAIC as Provost in 2010, where she served until being named president in 2016.

It was announced at the end of March 2023 that Tenny would be stepping down from her position as President of SAIC at the end of the 2023-24 school year, and would be replaced by Jiseon Lee Isbara (the former Provost at Otis College of Art and Design) upon her retirement.

Actions and term at SAIC

Tenny's presidential term at SAIC has been met with criticisms, the first of these surrounding her background not as an artist, but as an educator. She is the first full-time President of SAIC to have a background and career unrelated to art, which many students and faculty found led to misunderstandings and ignorance concerning community members of SAIC. She has also been criticized for her "commitment on racial equality [being] questionable", with many community members referencing SAIC Provost Martin Berger's usage of a racial slur during an introductory lecture in 2018, and Tenny's notable lack of reprimand for these remarks. In fact, Berger was promoted to his current position as Provost after making these remarks, which led many to question the judgement of both Tenny and the Board officials at that time.

The Chicago Reader stated that according to students and faculty, SAIC was "a toxic atmosphere for BIPOC, replete with microaggressions or outright discrimination" where complaints were often "dealt with individually, rather than systemically, if they are dealt with at all." Additionally, there was some controversy surrounding her emails addressing the 2023 war in Palestine, which "depoliticized the events" and "failed to present a full picture of what is happening in Gaza" per F Newsmagazine, and the SAIC students quoted in that article.

Several members of the SAIC community have described her as a person who is "out of touch or ineffective", and upon her appointment, "a jaw-dropper" of a choice for SAIC President due to her non-artist background, and concerning her involvement with Elizabeth Coleman at the time of mass layoffs at Bennington College. However, Tenny has also been widely praised for some of her community decisions, such as the creation and fund allocation for an influential SAIC Anti-Racism committee, which was formed after the events of Chicago Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. She has also created and supported the First-Generation Fellows program at SAIC, which provides resources and advice for first-generation college-goers at the institution, in response to her personal struggle as a first-generation student.