Art Historian and Digital Humanities Researcher Silvia Tita has been selected as the first appointee of the Carol Ann Bennett-Vallès Professorship in Art History at Michigan State University. 

“In this new role, I aim to not only touch on broad aspects of art history but also teach students about the relevance of early modern art and thinking to contemporary issues,” she said. “I hope to inspire students and advise those interested in the early modern period, a crucial historical period in which our modern life finds roots.”  

In this new role, I aim to not only touch on broad aspects of art history but also teach students about the relevance of early modern art and thinking to contemporary issues.

Dr. Silvia Tita

A $1 million gift from MSU alumna Carol Ann Bennett-Vallès and her husband Jean-Paul Vallès established this first-ever endowed professor position in art history in MSU’s College of Arts & Letters. It was created in the hopes of supporting an outstanding art historian, who will provide Department of Art, Art History, and Design students with a broad understanding of art history — a prospect Tita is excited to fulfill. 

“I am thrilled and honored to be appointed to the Carol Ann Bennett-Vallès Professorship,” Tita said. “I’m also incredibly grateful to Carol Ann Bennett-Vallès and Jean-Paul Vallès for recognizing the importance of early modern art and for endowing this position, enabling students for decades to come to acquire an in-depth perspective on this prolific artistic period.” 

With the endowment, this appointment enables the Department of Art, Art History, and Design to support high-quality art history courses, as well as important art history research, led by Silvia Tita. 

“We are so grateful for the Valles family’s support in bringing Silvia Tita to MSU,” said Karin Zitzewitz, Interim Chairperson of the Department of Art, Art History, and Design. “Silvia’s research and teaching are vital and exciting. She will introduce our students to the complex and beautiful worlds of early modern art, and how images, politics, and expanding knowledge of the world intertwined in fascinating ways.” 

Silvia’s research and teaching are vital and exciting. She will introduce our students to the complex and beautiful worlds of early modern art, and how images, politics, and expanding knowledge of the world intertwined in fascinating ways.

Karin Zitzewitz, Interim Chairperson of the Department of Art, Art History, and Design

Carol Ann Bennett-Vallès earned her B.A. in Fine Arts from MSU in 1957, and both Bennett-Vallès and her husband Jean-Paul Vallès feel strongly that the ability to appreciate and understand art is one of the key elements that separates humans from machines. They created this professorship in art history to help the next generation keep that appreciation and understanding alive.

“We want to welcome Silvia Tita to MSU as the first professor of Art History,” Carol Ann Bennett-Vallès and Jean-Paul Vallès said, “and we wish her all the best in making art history come alive for her students.”

Silvia Tita has a Ph.D. in History of Art from the University of Michigan, an M.A. in History of Art from the University of Toronto, a B.A. in History and Theory of Art and Museum Studies from the University of Arts Bucharest, and a B.S. in Computer Science from Polytechnic University Bucharest. After receiving her Ph.D., she was an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Art History at Kalamazoo College. 

We want to welcome Silvia Tita to MSU as the first professor of Art History, and we wish her all the best in making art history come alive for her students.

Carol Ann Bennett-Vallès and Jean-Paul Vallès

She has worked as a Research Associate in Digital Humanities at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where she was part of The History of the Accademia di San Luca project and was responsible for scholarly content and digital implementation. She also has worked as an independent scholar and has received several awards, fellowships, and grants to support her research, which focuses on early modern art in transnational contexts through diplomatic and missionary channels.

“While I envision that both my research and teaching will contribute to early modern studies, interdisciplinary studies, and digital humanities at MSU, the vibrant community and research resources available at MSU will positively impact my work,” said Tita, who will begin her role in the Carol Ann Bennett-Vallès Professorship in Art History as an Assistant Professor on August 16, 2021.

To learn more about the Carol Ann Bennett-Vallès Professorship in Art History, visit the Department of Art, Art History, and Design website.