Professor of art Stacy Isenbarger passed away on Aug. 4 in Seattle due to complications related to her blood disorder. Hugely influential to the University of Idaho’s art department and highly decorated, she has left her mark on the community.
Isenbarger has served UI for 14 years, serving as director of the College of Art and Architecture Foundations courses and General Education art courses and impacting thousands of students. She joined UI in 2011 as an assistant professor, becoming a full-fledged professor in 2024. Along with this, she served as the associate dean, where she worked directly to improve CAA.
Isenbarger led the college’s new strategic plan, aided structural transition from programs to departments, encouraged the improvement of student services and drafted new bylaws. Further, Isenbarger contributed largely to curriculum redesign and the establishment of certificate programs. She was also a project partner with the Confluence Lab.
In 2015, Isenbarger was granted the UI Hoffman Award for Teaching Excellence; in 2019, the Mid-Career Award; in 2021, the national Foundations in Art: Theory and Education Master Educator Award; and she also received a fellowship from the Idaho Commission on the Arts.
Her work was celebrated and displayed locally, regionally and nationally. She described her works as encouraging viewers to be at odds with the familiar and to confront distance and restraint.
Isenbarger leaves behind an inspiring legacy of compassion and creativity. A memorial service will be held in Moscow, with details to be announced.
Julia Kolman can be reached at [email protected].