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Academic Metals Directory · program

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign

university art department · Closed
last checked 2026-05-29

As archived

Degrees
B.F.A, M.F.A

Now (checked 2026)

Status
Closed

What happened
Metals program appears to have wound down after Prof. Billie Jean Theide retired (now Professor Emerita, inaugural James Avery Endowed Chair). As of 2026 the School of Art & Design faculty directory lists NO one in metals/jewelry/metalsmithing, and the 'Art & Design: Metals, MFA' catalog page now returns 404 — i.e. no active dedicated Metals MFA track or metals faculty. At most the intro course ARTS 230 Jewelry/Metals I may still be offered. Archived faculty (Pulos, Von Neumann, Mette, Theide) are all historical/retired. [Phil flagged Theide retired, successor unknown — confirmed: no successor found]

Link
art.illinois.edu/about/faculty-directory/

People

Faculty

Trained here


Sources

https://art.illinois.edu/about/faculty-directory/https://art.illinois.edu/people/profiles/billie-theide/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Jean_Theide

From the original Tyler “Academic Metals Directory” (≈2014), brought current in 2026.

A program in the Academic Metals Directory. People shown are linked where they have an entry. See it on the map →