Meadows Welcomes Eight New Faculty Members for the 2026-27 Academic Year

Blair Betik | Art History, Visiting Assistant Professor

More than a decade after first coming to Meadows as a student, alum Blair Betik returns as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Art History. A scholar and teacher of ancient Mediterranean art and architecture, Betik spent the past eight years pursuing graduate studies in Oxford, England, and New Haven, CT, and is excited to bring that expertise back to North Texas and to the school that helped shape her career.

“It is an honor to return to Meadows with the expertise and experience I have worked hard to develop, and that I could never have achieved without the support of the art history faculty,” says Betik. “It is a wonderful full-circle moment to now be their peer.”

In the classroom, Betik encourages students from all disciplines and levels of experience to look closely, ask questions and develop interpretations grounded in visual and material evidence. She is especially looking forward to teaching Pompeii: Art and Life in a Roman City this year, when students will be able to connect their classroom studies with an upcoming exhibition on Pompeii at the Dallas Museum of Art. Betik also plans to take advantage of resources closer to home, from ancient objects at Bridwell Library and artworks at the Meadows Museum to the classical architectural influences found throughout SMU’s own campus.

Learn more about Blair Betik here.

Ravi Binning | Art History, Assistant Professor of Practice

Ravi Binning joins the Department of Art History as an Assistant Professor of Practice, bringing expertise in medieval art and architecture to Meadows. Drawn to the division’s longstanding commitment to innovative scholarship, Binning is looking forward to introducing students to medieval art across the broad geographic region scholars call “Afro-Eurasia.”

“My teaching is all about the exercise of close, sustained looking,” he says. “Just as extraordinary insights emerge from reading a poem closely, so too does immersion in a work of art offer immense reward.”

This year, Binning will lead new courses that explore not only medieval artworks themselves, but how objects existed in and moved through the world, following them from museum collections to sites ranging from a monastery on Mount Sinai to a church in Ethiopia or a library in Paris. His first book, The Medieval Art of Fear, which offers a new account of art and architecture made before 1200, will also be published during his first semester at SMU, bringing research and methods from his own scholarship directly into the classroom.

Learn more about Ravi Binning here.

Kesleigh Dougherty | Film & Media Arts, Visiting Assistant Professor of Practice

After serving as an adjunct at Meadows since 2024, Kesleigh Dougherty joins the Division of Film & Media Arts as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Practice. An active video editor and creative producer, Dougherty brings current industry experience into the classroom while helping students develop their creative voices and prepare for careers in entertainment.

“My teaching philosophy centers on a ‘sound-first’ and narrative-driven approach to storytelling, grounded in hands-on mentorship,” says Dougherty. “I view post-production not just as a technical skill, but as an emotional language where pacing, sound design and structure come together to move an audience.”

Dougherty’s interactive, industry-focused teaching style encourages students to approach the classroom as a collaborative professional environment where they can solve story problems, refine their technical skills and build creative confidence. This year, she is especially excited to mentor students in post-production, sound design and career preparation, drawing on her ongoing work on entertainment, commercial and advertising campaigns to connect creative storytelling with modern professional practices.

Learn more about Kesleigh Dougherty here.

Peng Liu | Music, Assistant Professor

Peng Liu joins the Division of Music as an Assistant Professor of Musicology, drawn to Meadows by its combination of a liberal arts education, research opportunities and access to Dallas’ rich arts and culture community. This year, he is looking forward to developing new courses and connecting with students and colleagues across SMU while continuing his research in music history and culture.

“In my classes, I strive to create inclusive and collaborative spaces where students from diverse backgrounds feel empowered to exchange ideas and connect music to lived experience,” Liu explains. “My assignments emphasize experiential learning, critical reflection and community engagement.”

Liu’s students engage with music beyond the classroom through projects such as exploring physical and digital archives, documenting local soundscapes and creating public-facing work that amplifies underrepresented musical voices. Alongside his teaching, Liu is finalizing a book manuscript on German virtuoso pianist and composer Anna Caroline de Belleville and will present new research on Asian American music and activism at three national conferences during the academic year.

Learn more about Peng Liu here.

Billi London-Gray | Art, Assistant Professor

Artist and educator Billi London-Gray joins Meadows as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Art, where she is looking forward to developing new approaches to the art foundations curriculum and helping students realize their artistic potential.

“I believe education’s purpose is empowerment,” states London-Gray. “My classes are fun, experimental, and involve a lot of play in the pursuit of wonder. Students should expect to be challenged and rewarded in my courses.”

London-Gray’s teaching emphasizes student agency, active learning, feedback and reflection, an approach that complements her own exploratory artistic practice. She is currently developing The Underwear Tent, a project that creates space for conversations about who we allow into our intimate circles, and is excited to bring that same spirit of experimentation and curiosity to the Meadows community.

Learn more about Billi London-Gray here.

Joel Murray | Art, Visiting Assistant Professor

Joel Murray joins the Division of Art as a Visiting Assistant Professor, drawn to Meadows by the strong relationships he observed between faculty and students during his visits to campus. With a deep commitment to both teaching and visual art, Murray is looking forward to working with undergraduate and graduate students while becoming fully immersed in the Meadows community.

“Making art can be very much about solving problems, and I plan to provide support and help students in their process of learning and navigating the wonderful challenges being creative provides,” Murray says.

Murray’s teaching emphasizes rigor and building upon foundational concepts, techniques and material understanding while creating space for students to develop their own artistic perspectives. By incorporating both experimentation and conventional approaches to drawing, he aims to challenge students to better understand their creative process and discover their own sense of style, ability, meaning and value in the work they produce.

Learn more about Joel Murray here.

Stacia Philips | CCPA, Professor of Practice

SMU Meadows alum Stacia Philips returns to the Hilltop as a Professor of Practice in the Division of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs (CCPA), bringing more than three decades of experience advising and communicating from government offices and newsrooms around the world. For Philips, joining Meadows is a homecoming and an opportunity to give back to the university that helped shape both her career and who she wanted to become.

“I’m a storyteller at heart,” explains Philips. “After 36 years advising and communicating from government offices and newsrooms around the world, I want students to see what the textbook looks like when it’s actually happening.”

Philips plans to draw on experiences ranging from covering major breaking news events to developing communications strategies internationally to show students how the principles they study apply in real time. She is especially excited for the opportunity to mentor students, following the example of late SMU professor Kathy LaTour, whose emphasis on facts, ethics and accuracy profoundly influenced Philips as a student and throughout her career.

Learn more about Stacia Philips here.

Diane Powell | Music, Visiting Lecturer

After serving as a clinical supervisor with SMU since 2024, Diane Powell joins the Division of Music as a Visiting Lecturer in Music Therapy. A longtime DFW-area music therapist, Powell was drawn to the program’s commitment to developing skilled musicians and clinicians, as well as the community partnerships that provide students with opportunities to put their learning into practice.

“My teaching style is grounded in the belief that students learn best when they are in an environment where they feel safe to be actively engaged, ask questions and make mistakes,” Powell says. “I strive to create a classroom environment that is supportive and welcoming to all, while encouraging students to think critically, take creative risks and develop confidence in their own clinical voices.”

Alongside her role at Meadows, Powell will continue working as a music therapist at The Rise School Dallas, which provides early education services to young children with and without disabilities. The combination allows her to bring real-time clinical experiences directly into the classroom, connecting professional practice with students’ training as they begin developing their own approaches to music therapy.

Learn more about Diane Powell here.