Carole Brandt, dean emerita of the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, died in Dallas earlier this month after a brief illness. She was 76 years old.
Dr. Brandt was the first woman to serve as an academic dean at Southern Methodist University. She served as dean from 1994 until her retirement in 2006. Dean Brandt also held the Algur H. Meadows Chair and was a professor of theatre at the university.
Dr. Brandt earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Illinois and held a Ph.D. in directing from Southern Illinois University. Before joining the faculty at SMU, she served as director of the School of Drama at Illinois Wesleyan University, chair of the department of theatre at the University of Florida, and head of the department of theatre at Pennsylvania State University. Throughout her career, she directed more than 200 theatrical productions. She served as president of the National Association of Schools of Theatre.
A garden at the entrance of the Owens Arts Center on the SMU campus is named in her honor.