Sethi and his family are currently in the process of relocating from Washington, D.C., where for the past four years he has been the inaugural director of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University.

"What I found at MCAD was an incredibly dynamic and rich culture of people that were investing in scholarship around making, and thinking about it in relation to creativity and empathy, which I found really heartening," said Sethi, when reached by phone in D.C.

At the Corcoran, Sethi oversaw the rebuilding of the art school into a research institution, integrating George Washington University's museum studies, theater and dance, fine arts, art history, interior architecture and music programs. He launched graduate programs in interactive design and social practices/public policy. He also worked to ensure that indigenous communities and communities of color were part of the school's central dialogues, collaborating on the exhibition "Decolonizing Alaska" with Joseph Kunkel, a Northern Cheyenne tribal member and architect, among other projects.

"Sanjit Sethi strongly impressed the entire search committee with his deep commitment as an educator to creative expression and problem solving in highly diverse communities and settings," said David Moore Jr., the search committee's chair. "His ability to listen and build excitement around new opportunities stood out as well."

A trained artist, he earned his MFA in ceramics and sculpture from the University of Georgia, and an MS degree from MIT in visual studies and public art. Before joining the Corcoran in 2015, he was executive director of the Santa Fe Art Institute for two years. From 2008-13 he held various positions, including Director of Center for Art and Public Life, at the California College of the Arts in Oakland.

Sethi said his first few months at MCAD will be focused more on learning than doing.

"I think the most important thing that I want to do is do a tremendous degree of listening, and having a series of invested dialogues not just with the MCAD community but also understanding the cultural landscape of the area itself," he said. "The Twin Cities have got an incredibly strong indigenous component – one of the, if not the highest, number of indigenous people living in an urban environment. That's important for me when thinking about institutions having a decolonial imperative."

Sethi steps into this role at a good time fiscally for the school. Former president Jay Coogan, who was at MCAD for nine years, increased the endowment from $35 million to $56 million, doubled scholarship and financial aid for students, added the new media facility M/Lab, began the entrepreneurial program E/Lab, added product design to the college, and also introduced four new minors (art history, creative writing, engaged in public art, teaching artist).

Coogan left MCAD in September to become president at the IYRS School of Technology and Trades in Newport, Rhode Island. Since then, Karen Wirth had been in the role of interim president.