The University of Arizona College of Fine Arts is excited to welcome eight new faculty members for the 2025-2026 academic school year.
These educators bring diverse experience and leadership in piano pedagogy, operatic studies, film and television and hip-hop culture will inspire returning and new students at the College of Fine Arts. With a strong commitment to fostering innovation, collaboration and inclusivity, they are ready to shape the next generation of artists and scholars at the university.
Two visiting assistant professors from last year are back at the School of Music. Esteban Hernandez-Parra is now an assistant professor for viola; and Elena Chernova-Davis is also returning for another year as a visiting assistant professor.
Meet the newest members of the College of Fine Arts faculty:
School of Art
Lamont “Mont” Allen, Assistant Professor of Practice, Art History
Okyoung Noh, Assistant Professor of Practice, First-Year Experience
School of Dance
Ruben Dorame-Leon, Assistant Professor of Practice
School of Music
Kristine Clough, Assistant Professor of Practice
Grace Ho, Assistant Professor, Piano Pedagogy
School of Theatre, Film & Television
Jennifer Gerber, Assistant Professor of Practice, FTV Production
Nikki Reed, Assistant Professor, FTV Studies
Erin Roberts, Assistant Professor of Practice, Live & Screened Performance
SCHOOL OF ART
Dr. Mont Allen
Assistant Professor of Practice, Art History
Website
Art historian Dr. Mont Allen earned his PhD from Berkeley in ancient art history and his master’s in history of religion from Syracuse University and in modern European history from Berkeley.
He’s taught courses ranging from ancient Greek and Roman to renaissance and baroque art and has won multiple awards including Liberal Arts Outstanding Teacher of the Year award and the Faculty Mentor of the Year award from Southern Illinois University and the Everyday Hero award from Berkeley.
“Through the historical study of art, I want to set our students’ eyes and minds afire, pull the rug out from underneath their inherited cultural assumptions, and awaken their sense of delight,” Allen said.
His research concentrates on Greek mythology and Roman funerary art as they intersected in the form of ancient Roman sarcophagi. Currently, he is focusing on funerary images of Dionysus, the ancient Greek god of wine, fertility and ecstasy.
Allen most excited to explore the hiking and regional cultural opportunities in and around Tucson.
Okyoung Noh
Assistant Professor of Practice, First-Year Experience (FYE)
Website
Okyoung Noh earned her BFA in painting and a minor in creativity and arts education from Seoul National University in South Korea and her MFA from the University of Michigan.
“I am excited to work with the creative and inspiring community at the College of Fine Arts.”
Her work spans from community engagement, performance, video and installation in exploring issues with identity and mis/dislocation of Asian women due to forced migration, loss and survival from the U.S. military and imperialism. She works with massacre survivors, North Korean defectors, Asian service workers, marriage migrants, transnational adoptees, and diasporic Koreans.
“I hope my FYE course can be a welcoming bridge that connects incoming students to the culture and values of the school,” she said.
“I was drawn to the College of Fine Arts because living and working in Tucson—where complex geopolitical issues of militarization and migration intersect—inspires me as an artist,” Noh said. “I am also inspired by the college’s commitment to new media and performance art, as it is one of the few institutions that introduces these areas to first-year students.”
SCHOOL OF DANCE
Ruben Dorame-Leon
Assistant Professor of Practice
Ruben Dorame-Leon is a local Tucsonan, graduating from Desert View High School. Now, almost a decade later, he owns and operates a nonprofit dance studio in South Tucson. The studio “Drop” opened in 2011, offering offers affordable hip-hop, funk, and street style dance and culture classes. His studio won multiple international competitions in 2015 and 2017.
In addition to dance classes, Leon’s studio also offers performances, media projects, and educational programs to our community with the hope to inspire, manifest, and elevate the future generations of dance artists and leaders.
Starting at the School of Dance, he’s most excited about connecting and creating with returning and incoming dance students. “I hope to spark student interest in street dance culture while helping students build their own style,” he said.
“Joining the Fine Arts College allows me to share my creative passion with other like-minded artists and explore my capabilities as a growing dancer and educator,” he said.
SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Dr. Grace Ho
Assistant Professor, Piano Pedagogy
Dr. Grace Ho earned her DMA in piano and arts administration from the University of Oregon, along with a BFA (Biola University) and MFA (Indiana University) in piano performance. Now, she’s taking her skill to the School of Music.
“I appreciate the University of Arizona’s integration of visual and performing arts, and the investment that Arizona Arts makes to the community of Tucson,” said Ho.
She’s been teaching piano to students at all ages and levels for over 20 years. At the collegiate level, she’s taught courses revolving around piano pedagogy, applied piano, class piano and music theory.
“I hope to inspire students to share their love of music through teaching and to empower them to do so with the tools and skills they will learn through the piano pedagogy program,” she said. “I am excited to join the vibrant arts community in Tucson and at the School of Music.”
Kristen Clough
Assistant Professor of Practice
Kristen Clough received her Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Michigan in 2020 and a BA in Music Education summa cum laude from Providence College with a concentration in voice in 2010. She joined the University of Arizona faculty in 2022 as an instructor
Her dissertation won the University of Michigan Louise Cuyler Prize in Musicology for best dissertation chapter. She also worked as Director of Outreach and Education at the Gershwin Initiative in Ann Arbor where she guided undergraduate research and media publications. She currently serves as an Executive Editor for the National Opera Association’s scholarly publication The Opera Journal.
She has presented her work on Milhaud’s unpublished opera Bolivar as the 2024 scholarly paper competition winner at the National Opera Association conference in Tempe, AZ and at the Princeton University conference “Within and Without Les Six at 100” in 2020.
At the University of Arizona she teaches courses focused on Opera and American Popular Musics. In her free time she enjoys crafting in the fiber arts and indulging her fascination with science-fiction television and its musics.
SCHOOL OF THEATRE, FILM & TELEVISION
Jennifer Gerber
Assistant Professor
Website
Originally from Arkansas, Jennifer Gerber earned her MFA in filmmaking from Columbia University. She started her film career in Chicago.
She’s served as a producer most recently on The Fight (2025) and Standing on the Edge (2024). In total, she has 25 producer credits as well as 13 director credits.
Outside of her film credits, she also opened a film school in Hot Springs called Inception to Projection. With her 17 years of experience as a professional filmmaker and seasoned professor she teaches hands-on filmmaking courses for students of all ages.
Additionally, she served as a mentor for Sundance Film Festival Native Lab, a creative director for the School of Creative and Performing Arts in Los Angeles and New York City and served as the executive director of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.
Erin Roberts
Assistant Professor of Practice, Live & Screened Performance
Website
Erin Roberts, professional actor, teacher and coach, has a BA degree in directing from Smith College and an MFA in acting from Penn State University. Now, she’s an assistant professor of practice for the Live & Screen Performance degree program.
“I’m excited for a new beginning and to surround myself with curious, creative, likeminded people,” she said.
She’s taught various acting, voice and movement classes at Penn State, Queens College, and has been a guest artist at AMDA, Northern Stage Company, Improbable Fiction, Invisible City Theatre Company and Laguardia High School for the Performing Arts.
Roberts likes to foster vulnerability as a strength and give students more tools to communicate their thoughts and feelings.
“My goal with students is to create trust and rapport to allow them to tap into some true vulnerability which leads to self-awareness,” Roberts said.
She studied with the National Theatre Institute, The Royal Shakespeare Company, and is a member of The Guthrie Theatre’s Actor’s Workout. Roberts’ film and television credits include ESPN’S The Bronx is Burning, Law and Order SVU, The Good Wife, Lady Dynamite, and The Royal Tenenbaums.”
Nicole Reed
Assistant Professor, FTV Studies
Nikki Reed is the former vice president of Original Scripted Series at HBO Max, where she oversaw multiple projects from development to production. She’s worked for Warner Bros. Discovery as vice president of content development, The Walt Disney Company and Blackmaled Productions.
“I’m excited to bring my 20+ years in the film and television industry into the classroom and give students a real-world perspective on how projects go from idea to screen,” she said.
At the University of Arizona, she’s an assistant professor of practice for the School of Theatre, Film & Television. She earned her BA of Liberal Studies at Arizona State University and a certificate from University of California- Los Angeles in Human Resource Management.
“My goal is to help students bridge the gap between academia and industry by preparing them with both the creative and professional skills needed to thrive in today’s entertainment landscape,” Reed said. “I want them to leave my classes not just with stronger projects, but with the confidence to navigate pitches, notes, and production processes the way they’ll encounter them in the real world.”
Reed has also worked with Hasbro and Paramount to drive content strategies and produce compelling narratives. Additionally, she’s currently working with The Kid’s Table Content as a managing partner and creative executive. She said the College’s commitment to creativity and innovation felt like a perfect match.
“I was drawn to the opportunity to mentor the next generation of storytellers while being part of a vibrant, collaborative arts community,” she said.