Karen Bell is professor emerita for the Department of Dance, formerly served as its chair and the dean for the College of the Arts. She also served as the university’s first Associate Vice President for Arts Outreach and was charged with forging collaborations with the central Ohio community and bolstering the university’s profile in Columbus and nationwide.
Bell helped establish the Arts Initiative, through which Ohio State became the first North American collaborator with the Royal Shakespeare Company on Stand Up for Shakespeare, a teacher-training program aimed at incorporating the playwright into the curricula of area schools. Though her efforts, Ohio State’s Urban Arts Space in Franklinton was established as well.
Bell has been involved in leadership development for women in the Jefferson Academy for Leadership and Governance and is co-author of Women Leading the Way: Reflections on Life and Leadership.