Administration

Kathleen Collins joined the Kansas City Art Institute as president in 1996. Under her leadership, the college has achieved record enrollment, completed more than $25 million in campus improvements and doubled its endowment to $40 million. Previously President Collins had been dean of the School of Art and Design at New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, where she also served as a full professor. Before that, she was chair of the Applied Photography Department, School of Photographic Arts and Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology, where she also taught photography from 1974 to 1989.

A native of Chicago, President Collins holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a minor in fine arts, from Stanford University in California. She earned a master of fine arts degree in photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

President Collins is a nationally exhibited photographer, and her works are included in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Cleveland Art Museum, the Indiana University Art Museum, the Centro Cultural/Arte Contemporaneo in Mexico City, Mexico and the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Va.

President's Cabinet 

Ronald Cattelino, executive vice president for administration

Ron Cattelino joined KCAI in 1971 as chief accountant. Since then he has held a variety of posts, including interim president of the college for one year. He has been active in various community groups and serves on the board of the Women's Christian Association and as a founding board member of the Community Association of Nonprofit Business Executives. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration with a major in accounting from Pittsburg State University in Kansas.

Bambi Burgard, Ph.D., vice president for enrollment management and student achievement

Bambi Burgard joined KCAI in 2000 as assistant dean for academic affairs and director of the academic resource center. In 2006, she became associate vice president for student achievement; from 2008 to 2010 she served the college as interim vice president for enrollment management; and in 2010 she was promoted to vice president for enrollment management and student achievement. Before coming to KCAI, she worked in the student counseling center at University of Missouri-Kansas City and in private practice. Burgard earned her doctorate in counseling psychology from University of Missouri-Kansas City and is a licensed psychologist in Missouri and Kansas. 

Anne Canfield, vice president for communications

Anne Canfield joined KCAI in 2002 from the Kauffman Foundation, where she had been vice president for communications. Before that she spent nearly 16 years as a communications consultant with Fleishman-Hillard Inc., an international public relations consulting firm, where she was a senior vice president and partner. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from Stanford University in California, studied on the graduate level at the University of Michigan and is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America.

Larry Dickerson, vice president and Chief Information Officer

Larry Dickerson joined KCAI in 2006 from William Jewell College, where he served as director of information services, spanning 27 years as an administrator, teacher, speaker and coach. He holds a bachelor’s degree from William Jewell in physics and philosophy and a master’s degree in divinity from Yale University.

Mark Salmon, Ph.D. vice president for academic affairs

Mark Salmon, Ph.D., joined KCAI in 2007 as vice president for academic affairs. Previously he held the same title at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. Before that, he was academic dean at The Atlanta College of Art, and earlier he was chair of the humanities and sciences division at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Salmon earned his doctorate degree in sociology from New York University. His academic career has encompassed teaching, writing and administration.

Pam Sibert, vice president for advancement

Pam Sibert joined KCAI in 2003 as executive director of development and was promoted to vice president for advancement in 2004. Before moving to the nonprofit sector, she careered in print and electronic media, advertising, public relations and audio/video production. For 30 years she has been a fundraising professional in education and the arts. She hold a bachelor's degree from Kansas State University and a master's degree from the University of Central Missouri.