About PNCA

Meet our Leadership Team

Jen Cole (she/her)

Jordan Schnitzer Dean, jgcole@willamette.edu

Jennifer Gilligan Cole is the Jordan Schnitzer Dean of Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University in Portland, Oregon. Prior to her appointment as Dean, she was the Chief of Staff at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University the largest comprehensive art and design college in the U.S. While there, she led the MA in Creative Enterprise & Cultural Leadership and founded The National Collaborative for Creative Work—a research center focused on artist/culture work and social change in America. Cole served nearly a decade as Nashville, Tennessee’s chief cultural officer working with elected officials, artists, and cultural organizations to explore how arts and cultural participation are community prosperity. While there she led national models in equitable creative placemaking, public funding and policy for the arts. She is a thought leader in cultural policy and planning, artist economies and urban arts ecosystems and has held board and advisory positions with the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project, Americans for the Arts, IL Arts Alliance, Creative West, ArtPlace America, Creative Capital, Grantmakers in the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Cole is the co-founder of the Cultural Policy Action Lab, a national community of practice program for public sector workers who seek to advance racial equity through arts, culture and public policy. She holds a B.A. with honors, in English from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA.

Kate Copeland (she/her)

Senior Associate Dean, kcopeland@willamette.edu

Leads strategic thinking, planning and operations related to curriculum, teaching & learning including: curriculum and degree planning, faculty development and assessment, teaching excellence and mentoring and life-long learning programs. Kate also leads strategic work integrating career, international education and community/civic service into curriculum.

Sally Schoolmaster (she/her)

Associate Dean of Academic Success, sschoolmaster@willamette.edu

Leads internal coordination to ensure that students thrive academically at PNCA. Sally leads the advising process, retention strategy, academic integrity and supports transfer agreements, transfer and first-generation student experiences and support systems.

Anna Miltenberger (she/her)

Dean of Admissions, amiltenberger@willamette.edu

Anna leads external student recruitment, admissions and coordination of institutional transfer student agreements including marketing and communications to prospective students & parents. Ensures innovation, commitment to JEDI and WU mission in all student outreach and new student recruitment function of the college.

Dr. Chris Potts (he/him)

Dean of Students for Community Care & Inclusion, cpotts@willamette.edu

Dr. Potts leads the Office of Student Affairs team at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. He oversees and leads the PNCA Student Affairs team and is responsible for PNCA's undergraduate and graduate, out-of-the-classroom, co-curricular education, engagement, and support. This includes planning and overseeing the co-curricular education, engagement, and support of PNCA. This includes planning and oversight of initiatives, programs, and care aimed at building inclusive communities that promote academic success, personal growth, accountability, and s  and student well-being. Additionally, he leads efforts to ensure the PNCA Student Affairs department fosters a welcoming and inclusive campus environment and aligns with divisional, college, and university diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging goals.

For nearly twenty years, Dr. Potts has served as a student affairs and higher education professional, consultant, adjunct faculty member, equity and inclusion educator, and scholar. He has held positions in various functional areas of Student Affairs and Support Services, including counseling, student care and support, student conduct, student life, residence life and housing, career services, and equity and inclusion. 

Dr. Potts is passionate about students and advocates for creating trauma-informed spaces where students feel they belong, are welcomed, and matter. His research has focused on anti-deficit perspectives of student success for Black males attending predominantly White community colleges, mentoring experiences of Latina/o/x community college students, and complexion and phenotype in Portland, Oregon. 

Dr. Potts holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration from Oregon State University, a Masters of Science in Conflict Resolution with a focus on Student Affairs in Higher Education from Portland State University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Washington State University.