Rebecca Rugg

Rebecca Rugg serves as Dean of the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts (CADA) at the University of Illinois Chicago, leading four academic schools—Architecture, Art and Art History, Design, and Theatre and Music—alongside Gallery 400 and the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum. A distinguished leader in American theater, she brings extensive experience from nonprofit theater leadership at New York's The Public Theater and Chicago's Steppenwolf and Redmoon Theater companies.

Her expertise spans dramaturgy, dramatic criticism, and arts advocacy, with a focus on interdisciplinary collaborations and community engagement. As a scholar, she co-edited Reimagining A Raisin in the Sun: Four New Plays and published criticism in American Theatre and Performing Arts Journal. Her leadership emphasizes arts as a public good, exemplified by founding Chicago's Great Fire Festival.

Rugg holds a doctorate and MFA from Yale School of Drama, where she remains a visiting faculty member. She previously taught at DePaul, Northwestern, and University of Chicago while developing innovative academic programs and securing funding for creative initiatives. Her administrative work prioritizes cross-disciplinary connections and campus-wide creative integration.