Department of Creative Arts Alumna, Samantha Gaier, Associate Director of School-Based Learning at the Cincinnati Art Museum

Samantha Gaier attended Mount St. Joseph University as a Department of Creative Arts student. She graduated in 2011 with a major in Art History. Since graduating from the Mount, Sam has become the Associate Director of School-Based Learning at the Cincinnati Art Museum. While managing her role at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Sam still finds time to continue to support the Mount and the Department of Creative Arts. Keep reading to learn more about Sam's time as a student at the Mount, her role at the Cincinnati Art Museum, and her continued involvement at MSJ!

"As a freshman at the Mount, I started in Interior Design with a minor in art history. By my sophomore year, I was so interested in my art history classes, I began asking if I could change my major. Shawnee Turner was one of my adjunct instructors and my biggest advocate. She helped me fill out the paperwork, was my thesis advisor, and helped me graduate as the first art history major with my associate's in interior design. I was active in many clubs while at MSJ like the honors program and I worked in the Admissions office." Samantha Gaier

"My senior year I was a co-op for the Studio San Giuseppe Gallery, under the direction of Velma Daily. Velma taught me the ins and outs of installing a show, how to best communicate with artists, how to set up gallery receptions, and how to greet/talk to guests about the many different exhibitions. She also helped me explore the marketing side of galleries by having me write an article for the school newspaper and let me lead a research project where I documented the location and condition of the Mount's many artworks throughout the academic buildings. This experience made me a well-rounded undergraduate and made me more appealing to graduate programs. I learned so much from Velma and this experience was one of the highlights of my time at the Mount." Samantha Gaier

After Sam graduated from the Mount she went on to graduate school and entered the workforce. "From that year on I always had a connection to the Mount and would keep in touch with many of my instructors and Velma. After graduate school and several jobs, I was hired as the Administrative Assistant in the Learning & Interpretation division at the Cincinnati Art Museum, after 10 months I was promoted and am now the Associate Director of School-Based Learning. In this role, I facilitate and lead all teacher professional development programs and school-based outreach programs. One of my first meetings was with Susan Ruttle Lawrence and Sylvia Dick about how to increase student participation in CAM teacher programs and how to get students to the museum. In March 2017, I created a new program called Evenings for Future Educators, a professional development program tailored for pre-service students. Susan and Sylvia were instrumental in bringing MSJ students to this program and have continued to do so ever since. Both have been extremely supportive of my programs and have asked me to speak and present to several MSJ art education classes over the years. Sylvia is retired but I now work closely with Susan and Michaelann." Samantha Gaier

Michaelann Kelley, Ed. D., The Chair of the Department of Creative Arts and an Assistant Professor at the Mount, details the many ways Samantha continues to support the arts at MSJ. "Sam has been a guest lecturer in the Artworld class for the past three years, she is a presenter in the AED 290 class which is for our art education classes. She also supports the Studio San Giuseppe Gallery exhibitions by promoting them at her events. She has been instrumental in working with our students in the Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM) Summer Teacher Institute. This year was Alyssa McRoberts and last year it was Lexi Theuerling. She even supported Lexi in presenting at the National Art Education Association National Conference in Minneapolis in April 2024. We did a presentation with the Mount, CAM, and Miami University. Mrs. Susan Lawrence and myself with our art education students attend the Evening for Educators and Preservice Evening for Educators." Michaelann Kelley

"This past April, my proposal for the NAEA conference was accepted and I presented with Michaelann, Lexi (a senior at MSJ), and two other professors on the importance of pre-service programming at museums. Lexi was the teaching artist for the Summer Teacher Institute last year. I met both Lexi and Alyssa through Evenings for Future Educators because they were encouraged to attend by their instructors and then went on to be teaching artists for the Summer Teacher Institute." Samantha Gaier

"For the past few years, I have hired a pre-service student to be a Teaching Artist during the program, giving them hands-on experience in museum education and facilitating a teacher professional development program. This year, recent MSJ grad Alyssa McRoberts was my teaching artist. She did an amazing job, she created several new lesson plans around the theme featuring artworks from our collection, led those art-makings during the program, presented on her work, assisted me through the week, and designed many handouts and worksheets for the binder each teacher was given to use throughout the institute." Samantha Gaier

Sam Gaier was featured on Fox 19 back during the summer discussing the Cincinnati Art Museum Summer Teacher Institute. Click here to watch the full Fox 19 news broadcast. This program is a three-day course that the CAM offers during July every summer. Sam is the director of this program and says the goal is to "empower educators to try new concepts and recharge their creative energy before the new school year." To find out more information about the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Summer Teacher Institute, and the many other programs they offer, visit https://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/.

Samantha Gaier, Alumna from the Mount's Department of Creative Arts and Associate Director of School-Based Learning at the Cincinnati Art Museum continues to be a true advocate and asset to the university and the community. Congratulations, Sam, on your pivotal role at the Cincinnati Art Museum, and thank you for your continued support of the Mount's Department of Creative Arts!