Dr. Carol Becker is an art historian. Until her retirement, she was Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts. Her research interests include feminist theory, American cultural history, the education of artists, art and social responsibility, and South African art and politics.Previously, Becker was Dean of Faculty and Vice-President for Academic Affairs at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.Becker's first book, "The Invisible Drama: Women and the Anxiety of Change," was published in 1987. She has published five nonfiction books about art and culture, and one memoir, "Losing Helen: An Essay," published in 2016.Becker received her B.A. in English literature from State University of New York Buffalo and her Ph.D. in English and American literature from the University of California San Diego.