President Emeritus
Elissa Tenny
President Emerita
Elissa Tenny was named president in July 2016, becoming the 15th executive and first woman to lead the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in its more than 150-year history. A career-long proponent of art and design education and the liberal arts, Tenny advocated for interdisciplinary practice; diversity, equity, and inclusion in college and throughout society; and the global citizenship role artists, designers, and scholars fulfill, influencing the world at large.
While at SAIC, Tenny had broad responsibility for overseeing the School’s world-renowned academic programs, strategic direction, and operations across all facets of the institution. During her tenure, the School completed its first-ever major fundraising campaign at 110 percent of goal. She centered the student experience through further fundraising and planning efforts—which increased student scholarships, promoted wellness, and expanded career-building experiences for students. Additionally, opportunities for research increased under Tenny’s leadership, and she personally served as principal investigator for Spencer Foundation-funded research projects involving six Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) schools. Throughout, she remained a leader in the field, having contributed to AICAD and National Association of Schools of Art and Design conferences, delivered the keynote address at the 40th anniversary celebration for The New School’s School of Media Studies, been named a notable woman in both education and as an executive by Crain’s Chicago Business, and ranked sixth on Newcity’s list of Chicago notables, “Art 50 2017: Who Makes Art Work.”
Tenny came to SAIC in 2010 to serve as provost and senior vice president of academic affairs. Prior to that, she served as provost and dean at Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont, from 2002–10. Tenny also served in a variety of roles at The New School in New York City from 1975 to 2002, eventually holding the positions of acting dean (1998–2001) and vice dean (2001–02). Tenny holds a Doctor of Education from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Arts in Media Studies from The New School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Stockton University.
Walter Massey
President Emeritus
Walter Massey became SAIC’s first president emeritus on July 1, 2018, after serving as the School’s president (2010–16) and chancellor (2016–18). This honorific title underscores Massey’s enduring legacy at SAIC through programs that took root during his presidency, such as the College Arts Access Program and the Walter and Shirley Massey Chicago Scholarship Fund, which provides need-based undergraduate scholarships for Chicago Public School graduates.
As chancellor, Massey supported major fundraising initiatives and other outreach efforts on behalf of the School. Chancellor Massey’s vast array of experience across higher education, the arts and sciences, and the corporate and civic sectors is a tremendous asset to our campus.
As president, and along with then-Provost Elissa Tenny, Massey led efforts to increase student scholarships and further diversify our student body; to modernize our campus; to broaden our outreach to new institutional partners across the arts, higher education, and business communities; and to improve the School’s financial position. His tenure as president culminated with SAIC’s 150th Anniversary celebrations and with the launch of an historic fundraising campaign, Beautiful/Work: The Campaign for SAIC.
Prior to joining SAIC, Massey served as president of Morehouse College, his alma mater, for over a decade. During his tenure, more than 5,000 young men (mostly African American) received degrees. He was also instrumental in bringing the papers of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the college, where they are now stored.
A theoretical physicist, in 2016 Chancellor Massey was additionally named Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization. In this role, he guided the construction of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) in the Chilean Andes, the world’s largest optical telescope.
Massey began his career at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and Brown University, before serving as director of Argonne National Laboratory, with joint appointments as professor of physics and, later, vice president of research at the University of Chicago. From 1991 to 1993, he served as director of the National Science Foundation under President George H.W. Bush. He then joined the University of California system as provost and senior vice president of academic affairs.
Throughout his career, Massey has leveraged his wide range of expertise in other sectors. He is former chairman of Bank of America and currently serves as a director of McDonald’s. In the civic and philanthropic sectors he has served on the boards of the Mellon Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund, Smithsonian Institution, and the Salzburg Global Seminar in addition to a number of other organizations committed to the advancement of science and technology, diversity in education, and the arts and culture.
Altogether, Massey has been recognized for his many accomplishments with honorary degrees from 40 universities, including Yale, Northwestern, Ohio State, Columbia, and Brown, and is also a Trustee Emeritus of the University of Chicago and Brown University. He and his wife Shirley have two sons and three grandchildren.