Elena Yu is the Ruffin Gallery and Visiting Artist Coordinator. Elena oversees the Ruffin Gallery’s marketing and exhibition schedule, including exhibitions by visiting artists, faculty, and students. She also supports Studio Art’s robust program of visiting artists.
Emily Chen, Administrative Coordinator, has a BA in Spanish and American Studies from UVA. She is part of the department’s administrative team, assisting with academic, financial, and event operations. She provides primary academic support for the undergraduate program in Art History and graduate program in Art and Architectural History. She manages course scheduling and works closely with the Director of Undergraduate Program and the Director of Graduate Studies to ensure students are on track to graduate.
Emily is a UVA alum (BA in English, ’03). She has held several positions in academic administration at UVA as well as Stanford University, but this is the first time she has had the pleasure of working so closely with students. Her current role allows her to participate in most of the workings of this side of the department: class scheduling, purchasing, editing grant proposals, planning visits for outside artists, managing the gallery schedule, and marketing the program.
Dan concentrated on Dutch Baroque Art and Cartography while an undergraduate at Mary Washington College (now the University of Mary Washington) and switched to Classical Art and Archaeology upon entering the University of Virginia. He has excavated in Morgantina, Sicily and at the Roman fort of Porolissum in Salǎj, Romania. His primary research interests are geography and the Roman/Barbarian interaction along the frontier, focusing on sites in Romania and Bulgaria.
Victoria Valdes is the lab manager of the 3D design lab in Ruffin Hall. She received her master’s degree in art history from UVA in 2012 and began work for the Department of Art as a translator and database manager shortly thereafter. In 2015 she was promoted to Assistant Director of the Visual Resources Center. During her time at the VRC, Victoria created a full-service 3D modeling program for the department. Her software and modeling expertise includes Rhino 3D, Blender, Maya, Agisoft Metashape and handheld laser scanning tools.
Eric Schmidt, Ruffin Gallery and Studio Technician, has been with the Art Department for 22 years. He holds a BFA with a concentration in painting for UNC-Chapel Hill.
Laura Mellusi, Finance and Administration Manager, has worked at UVA for over 15 years and in the Art Department since 2014. She is responsible for managing the Art Department’s overall operations, supervising most of the staff, and overseeing all financial and human resource plans and actions. Her financial duties include budget planning, financial accounting, and tracking incoming gifts, grants, and finding other funding resources. As the department human resources liaison, she manages faculty, staff, and student hiring and personnel related tasks.
