Biography
Darrell Naylor-Johnson is a higher education leader with over two decades of professional experience in numerous areas of education and strategic leadership, ranging from fine art and humanities instruction, distance education, educational technology, curriculum development, accreditation, program planning and extensive senior level administrative duties. He deeply enjoys discussing and sharing ideas about the intersection and dynamics of the arts, innovation and technology and how they collectively impact current and future generations.
Naylor-Johnson earned a BFA degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), an MFA degree from the Pennsylvania State University and is a life-long learner that stays up to date on a myriad of subjects through open courses, MOOCs, open education resources, professional learning networks and involvement in professional organizations.
He joined the faculty of SCAD in 1992. During his tenure as a professor and then dean of fine arts he taught in the areas of foundation studies, painting and art history. Beyond his work as a faculty member and administrator, Naylor-Johnson has extensive experience as a technology strategist, community organizer, collaborative art maker and non-profit manager.
With respect to his professional endeavors at SCAD, Naylor-Johnson was promoted in 2002 to assistant vice president for academic services. In this role, one of his primary duties was the development and implementation of SCAD eLearning, the College’s online campus. Following the successful launch of the online program in 2003, he was appointed Vice President for SCAD eLearning. Under his strategic and systematic direction the range and scope of programs and services offered by SCAD eLearning developed into being a significant SCAD campus. Naylor-Johnson during his tenure leading the online campus positioned it as the premier provider of online art and design programs. In less than a decade he drove the development and growth of the online campus, from an initial offering of only two programs in 2003 to nearly 30 programs at the end of his term at the helm in 2012.
After successfully establishing and leading SCAD’s online ventures and educational technology initiatives, Naylor-Johnson returned to an instructional role at the college, since 2012 he has had a joint academic and staff appointment. Serving as a studio art instructor, he happily enjoys teaching online and greatly appreciates the extent to which the dynamics of distance education positively impacts the effectiveness of his instruction. His time teaching online is balanced with administrative and academic duties thus he provides oversight and strategic direction for designated academic units.
