Architect to head Art Institute school

An architect has been named to head the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The appointment of Wellington Reiter to the presidency of the school appears to reflect the broadened scope of subjects being taught at the prestigious art school.

Reiter was dean of the college of design and an architecture professor at Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz., for the last five years. Before that he was an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Reiter is replacing Tony Jones, who has led the school for 18 years. Under Jones, the school saw an expansion in enrollment, programs and Loop real estate.

Jones said Reiter would further efforts to bring balance to a curriculum that once was weighted toward the fine arts. The school now offer classes in fashion, design and architecture, media and technology, and the humanities.