Amir Berbić

Amir Berbić joined VCUarts Qatar in 2019. He provides executive leadership for VCU’s international campus in Education City, Doha, working collaboratively with faculty, staff, and university leadership to shape its academic and institutional direction.

His leadership emphasizes interdisciplinary education, research and creative practice, and the development of strategic partnerships that connect the school with academic, cultural, governmental, and industry organizations. He works to strengthen VCUarts Qatar’s engagement within Education City and the broader cultural and creative sector, while advancing its international relationships, visibility, and reputation.

Prior to his appointment as Dean of VCUarts Qatar, Berbić was a tenured professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where he served as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts, Chair of Graphic Design, and Acting Director of the School of Design. Earlier, he was a faculty member at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. He has also held professional leadership roles with AIGA Chicago and the International Council of Fine Arts Deans.

A designer, scholar, and educator, Berbić maintains a creative practice and research agenda exploring questions of place-based identity, displacement, and design pedagogy. His work has been presented internationally through publications, conferences, and exhibitions and is represented in institutional collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago. He holds a BFA in Graphic Design from UIC and an MFA in Visual Communication from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.