The School of Art will welcome alumna Sally Packard back to TCU as the new department director this fall, according to a news release from the university.

“We are delighted to welcome Sally Packard back to TCU,” Scott Sullivan, dean of the TCU College of Fine Arts, said in the release.

Packard has been the chairwoman of the Department of Visual Arts at Sage College of Albany since 2008, according to the release. Prior to joining Sage College, she worked at the University of North Texas as an associate professor and as coordinator of the Foundations Program in the College of Art & Design.

“She brings solid leadership experience in the visual arts as well as an understanding of the national issues and challenges facing the discipline in the future,” Sullivan said in the release.

Packard graduated from TCU in 1997 with a master of fine arts degree. According to the release, her work has been featured across the U.S. and Europe with recent exhibits in Sweden, California, Chicago, Austin and Dallas.

According to the release, she earned her undergraduate degree from Regent’s College, State University of New York in Albany.

Packard also has served as a panelist for conferences for the College Art Association and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, according to the release.

She is a practicing sculpture and installation artist, and her recent work has focused on community involvement.