Ellen Avitts received her PhD from the University of Delaware, specializing in American art and architectural history.  She completed her MA at Rice University where her research focused on art of the 19th century and the art and architecture of ancient Rome.  She also holds a BFA in Environmental Design from the University of Houston.

Ellen has published articles and presented papers nationally and internationally on a wide range of topics, from the landscape paintings of Thomas Cole to the art of Abraham Walkowitz, a member of Alfred Steiglitz’ circle, to ways in which cultural values are embedded and transmitted in house merchandising literature.  She has received numerous awards and fellowships including a National Endowment for the Humanities Residential Fellowship and a McNeil Dissertation Fellowship.  A native of Texas, Ellen came to CWU from Baltimore, Maryland, in the spring of 2013.