STORRS, CONN.: The University of Connecticut’s School of Fine Arts (SFA) has appointed Megan Monaghan Rivas to serve as both the head of the school’s Dramatic Arts program and as the artistic director of the Connecticut Repertory Theatre. She succeeds playwright/director Michael Bradford, who held the titles from 2016 until 2020, when he became UConn’s vice provost for faculty, staff, and student development. Edward Weingart has served as interim department head of Dramatic Arts for the past year.

“We are thrilled to have Megan join the School of Fine Arts,” said SFA dean Anne D’Alleva in a statement. “Her depth of experience in both the professional realm and in higher education are ideal for the School of Fine Arts as we celebrate our 60th anniversary and move to the future.”

Monaghan Rivas joins UConn SFA after serving as interim head of the School of Drama and associate professor of dramaturgy at Carnegie Mellon University. She brings more than 10 years of university teaching, with experience spanning institutions including the University of Iowa, Indiana State University, the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University, St. Louis University, and the University of Missouri – St. Louis. Monaghan Rivas has over 25 years of professional theatre experience, having freelanced with New Harmony Project, the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, the Women in Theatre Festival and Project Y Theatre, Actors Express Theatre, Horizon Theatre, and Shakespeare Festival St. Louis. She also previously worked for the Lark Play Development Center in New York City, the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis, South Coast Repertory Theatre, and the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Her accolades include being the co-recipient of the 2002 Elliott Hayes Prize in Dramaturgy.

“I’m honored to join UConn’s School of Fine Arts,” said Monaghan Rivas in a statement. “This is an exceptionally important year as we resume in-person education and art-making. It brings an extraordinary opportunity to embed new ideas and practices in our classrooms, studios, shops, and rehearsal halls. We have the responsibility to embody and accelerate the cultural shifts that our entire nation has begun. The vital idea is to move forward, not to ‘go back’ to anything.”