John Antoine Labadie was academically trained in art (sculpture) at the Dayton Art Institute, earned a bachelor"s degree in painting from the University of Dayton (1973), a Master's, in perceptual psychology, from Wright State University (1980) and an interdisciplinary Doctorate from the College of Design, Architecture Art & Planning at the University of Cincinnati (1993). Dr. Labadie has worked professionally in industrial engineering, photography, scientific illustration and as a writer, editor and artist for numerous newspapers, magazines and academic journals. Labadie has been a faculty member in the Art Department at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke since 1994 and is the founder of the Digital Arts program in the Art Department. He also currently serves as Director of the UNCP Digital Academy, a multi-departmental collaboration cross-disciplinary activity offering undergraduate new media courses, and a range of creative and technical media services and activities. Dr. Labadie's art works have been exhibited in more than 200 national and international exhibitions and are held in numerous private and museum collections. Labadie has published more than 150 articles on a wide range of subjects. Labadie spent the 2005-2006 academic year as a Fulbright Scholar with the "Center for Creativity and Innovations Studies" at National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan and as a Visiting Artist at National Taipei University of the Arts in Taiwan, and the Beijing Film Academy in Beijing, China. In 2007 Dr. Labadie was a visiting artist at Banasthali Vidyapith University in Jaipur, India, and at the National Institute of Design in Amenabad, India. For the Spring semester 2008, Dr Labadie is a senior visiting professor at the Graduate Institute of Library and Information Studies at National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.

More than ever before, I have found deep and abiding value in the diversity of students in the UNCP classes.

Students seem to respond to the individualized learning opportunities I am able to offer in an art studio environment that allows for small class sizes.

UNCP has a student population unlike any other in the USA. Due to this diversity, at UNCP students have an opportunity to experience a microcosm of the work world beyond North Carolina or the southeastern USA.

This 2008-2009 academic year will be my 15th year at UNCP. As a professor, my experience at UNCP has been excellent in the professional sense with myriad opportunities for innovative work in teaching, creative work and community service.