Karen E. Danielson

Karen Danielson has been an assistant professor of art history at CCD since 2011. Prior to joining the CCD team, she spent seven years teaching courses on the arts and education at Indiana University’s School of Education. 

Teaching is her greatest passion, and her innovative approach to teaching art history stands in stark contrast to typical “art in the dark” lectures.  Rather, Karen works diligently to design curricula that engage students with collaborative learning projects centered on historical thinking and artistic processes.  She employs student-centered forms of assessment that ask students to demonstrate what, when, and how they’ve learned. 

Karen prides herself on the interpersonal interactions she has with her students, frequently requiring each student to meet with her one-on-one each semester.  She often uses this time to help students with their writing because she views mastery of writing as essential to student success.  Students and faculty associate her with high-levels of energy, team spirit, and collegiality.

When Karen isn’t teaching and serving the College, she relishes having time to stay current in her “field”—which spans art history, museum studies, fine arts, as well as curriculum and instruction.  As such, she reads and writes heavily and enjoys traveling to historical sites and museums (much to her husband’s chagrin … he’d rather they be able to just “go on vacation!”).  Karen is the proud parent of three cats and enjoys cooking, making miniature books, oil painting, and spending time with her family.