Rate My Professor Dwayne Daniel

Dwayne Daniel is a Professor of Studio Art in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Central State University, where he is the first full professor in the history of the university’s Visual Arts Program. Born in Eastman, Georgia, he moved to Dayton, Ohio, at age 11, graduating from Dunbar High School in 1980. He earned a degree with honors in advertising graphics and studio arts from Central State University in 1986 and a Master of Fine Arts in graphic design and illustration from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in 1988. During graduate school, Daniel taught arts fundamentals, drawing, and perspective drawing at Miami University. Recruited by artist Willis “Bing” Davis, he taught figure drawing on the East Coast before returning to Dayton in 1990 due to his parents' illnesses, serving as an adjunct at Sinclair College and Central State University prior to his full-time faculty role. Over three decades, he has contributed to program development, including nine years as coordinator of the visual arts component of the Central State University Center of Excellence, designated by the Ohio Board of Regents in 2011.

Daniel served as the primary writer of the 2017 National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) self-study document, securing full NASAD membership and accreditation for the university, and led as graphic design professor for CSU’s first NASAD accreditation in 2009. A charter member of the African American Visual Artists Guild (AAVAG), he has held positions as president, vice president, and secretary on its Board of Trustees. He co-founded Black Heritage Through Visual Rhythms (BHTVR), a national juried art exhibition for African American artists; the inaugural exhibition opened in 2013 at the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center on CSU’s campus, 2017 works are permanently displayed in the CSU Student Center, and the seventh exhibit occurred at the Dayton Art Institute in 2022. As a painter and graphic designer, his narrative works celebrate African American achievements and reside in private and public collections nationwide. His honors include the 2023 Central State University Alumni Achievement Hall of Fame induction, 2017 inaugural Paul Laurence Dunbar High School Alumni Wall of Fame, 2013 Dayton Skyscraper recognition, 2011 Top 10 African American Male for Dayton and the Miami Valley Region, and 1990 M. Lawrence Shields Teaching Fellowship Award from Philips Academy.