Southeastern appoints Visual Arts and Design department head

Southeastern Louisiana University has appointed a new visual arts and design department head. Michael Eble will join the Southeastern faculty from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he served as assistant dean of the College of Arts.

In that role, he oversaw college-wide communications and events and served as curator of Fletcher Hall Gallery. In addition to Eble’s administrative leadership, he taught courses within the School of Visual Arts and design and contributed to the university’s First-Year Experience program.

Eble received his bachelor of fine arts degree in painting from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a master of fine art in painting and drawing from the University of Mississippi. He is also a graduate of the Leadership Institute of Acadiana’s Leadership Lafayette Program (XXXVIII).

“Professor Michael Eble is a multi-faceted leader whose extensive experience spans administrative excellence, gallery curation, and community advocacy,” said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Eric Skipper. “As an actively exhibiting artist with deep roots in Louisiana’s cultural landscape, he brings an innovative perspective that will enrich our curriculum. His proven commitment to the student experience makes him the ideal leader to foster an environment where our student-artists and faculty can truly thrive.”

Prior to his appointment at UL Lafayette, Eble served on the faculty of the University of Minnesota Morris from 2002 to 2015, where he was associate professor of studio art, department head from 2010-2014, and curator of the Edward J. and Helen Jane Morrison Gallery.

“Michael Eble brings a rare combination of administrative experience, artistic practice, and commitment to community engagement,” said College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Dean Jeff Wright. “His years of service within the UL System give him a strong understanding of state priorities and will allow him to hit the ground running.”

Eble’s creative practice explores themes of abstracted topography and modern architecture, inviting viewers to consider their relationship to both natural and built environments. His paintings and works on paper have been exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions across the United States, with exhibitions in Louisiana, Mississippi, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Recent solo exhibitions include the Hillard Art Museum in 2024, the Acadiana Center for the Arts in 2025, and Cole Pratt Gallery in New Orleans in 2026.

Southeastern’s Department of Visual Art + Design’s mission is to provide a comprehensive curriculum that integrates artistic study within a liberal arts education. At the heart of the program are goals of creative, intellectual, and technical development achieved through the integration of the practices of creative problem solving and art making within the context of contemporary culture.

For more information about Southeastern’s Music and Performing Arts Department, visit southeastern.edu/music.