Ph.D in the Arts

Debra Jean Ambush, Ph.D. earned her MFA and Ph.D. from Ohio State University. She is the 2017 recipient of the National Art Education Association Woman’s Caucus’ Maryl Fletcher DeJong Award. Dr. Ambush has been an advocate for recognition of African American Art educators most recently bringing recognition to Peggy Cooper Cafritz, founder of the Duke Ellington School for the Arts in Washington D.C

​

37 Years in Maryland Public Schools and Higher Ed

Dr. Debra Jean Ambush has taught art in the public school system in Maryland for thirty years. She has served for five years as an adjunct professor at the Corcoran School of Art and Design at George Washington University where she has taught a variety of courses including Introduction to Research Methods, Assessment and Evaluation, and Classroom Management. She served on thesis committees and taught thesis seminar.

​

Awards in Art and Education

Dr. Ambush has received many awards, including the Montgomery County Education Association Jaworski Civil Rights Grant, Maryland Art Education Association Educator of the Year Award, Montgomery County Public Schools Women in the Arts Award, Getty Fellowship in Art Education, Corcoran Faculty Research Grant and The Ohio State University Deans Fellowship. She is past chair of the National Art Education Association affiliate, Committee on Multi-Ethnic Concerns. She has served on the Advanced Placement Test Development Committee training AP Studio art teachers around the country including the Virgin Islands.

​

African American Traditions

In 2017 she received the National Art Education Association J. Eugene Grigsby Jr. Multi-Ethnic Concerns Award. She currently serves on the Editorial Review Board for the NAEA Art Education Journal. In 2013 she served as a Guest Co-Editor for an issue on Culturally Responsive Teaching for the Art Education Journal. Her research has been focused on African American Aesthetic Traditions as well as the history of African Americans in Art Education. Her publications include an essay in the exhibition catalog Ashe to Amen, an invited paper for Penn State @ 50 Art Education Seminar now available on the Penn State Online Conference Proceedings, Spring 2016.

 

See the Work of Dr. Ambush

For a detailed schedule on where to see the works of Dr. Debra Ambush, head over to the Exhibitions Page.

 

​