An accomplished scholar in preventive conservation, Wickens centers sustainability, systems thinking, disability justice, universal design and anti-racism in her work. She has served as both associate director and interim director of the program, demonstrating clarity of vision, collaboration and dedication to its mission.

Wickens succeeds Professor Debra Hess Norris, who has served as director since 1997. Over nearly three decades, Norris has guided strategic priorities that strengthened curriculum and teaching, advanced faculty development, expanded community partnerships, increased advocacy for the field and secured significant philanthropic support for conservation education and research. She will continue to serve as chair of the Department of Art Conservation for a final five-year term, a position she has held since 2000, focusing on student success, faculty enrichment, fundraising, new partnerships and global advocacy for the preservation of cultural heritage.

The WUDPAC community celebrates this milestone and looks forward to the program’s continued advancement under Wickens’ guidance.