Jillian Campana
Jillian Campana is the Academic Vice President and Dean of Undergraduate Studies at The College of Idaho, having previously taught, earned tenure, and served in leadership positions at The American University in Cairo and the University of Montana. She has lived and worked extensively in education in the US, Brazil, India, and Egypt. Dr. Campana’s scholarship draws upon participatory action research methodologies and uses the arts and literature as tools to build community, equality, identity, and social justice. She has developed multiple applied projects across the world, including programs for persons living with brain injuries (Framnäs Folkhögskola, Sweden), victims of sexual trafficking (Stairway, Philippines and International Justice Project, India) and Climate Change (United Nations Conference of the Parties, Sharm El Sheikh) and her work has been shown throughout Asia, Europe, Latin American and the Middle East. She has written four books and published numerous articles and book chapters in, among other publications, Critical Stages, Arab Stages, The Handbook for Social Work with Groups, Scene and Triquarterly, and she has won awards from the PBS Independent Lens Awards, the American College Theatre Festival at the John F. Kennedy Center, and the European Social Fund. Her research project, Msh Zanbik (It’s Not Your Fault), was awarded the 2023 Research Project of the Year in Arts Humanities and Social Sciences for the Middle East-North Africa region by the Times Higher Education. Her forthcoming book out in early 2027, focuses on climate change in Egypt and pairs literature with science and policy to advocate for changes in behavior and practice. As a higher education administrator, Dr. Campana has created 4+1 programs, designed an interactive university anti-sexual harassment training program, led educational outreach initiatives to connect higher education to K-12 schools, and developed community service learning and internship programs. She has served on the board and worked extensively with the UK charity ISTA, which produces over 60 events each year in over 50 countries, and she is a trained mediator with International Mediation Institute based in The Hague. EDUCATION Ph.D., Interdisciplinary: Psychology, Sociology, Education, Theatre, The University of Montana, 2005. M.A., Performance Studies, New York University, 1999. Teaching licensure, Chapman University, 1995. TOEFL credential, Cambridge University at The American University in Cairo, 1994. B.F.A., Theatre, California Institute of the Arts, 1992. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE International Mediation Institute, internationally certified mediator, The Hague, current. American Conference of Academic Dean, Fellow, 2025-2026. Association for Theatre in Higher Education. International Schools Theatre Association (global UK based charity), member and former board trustee. American Alliance for Theatre and Education, former state representative. Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Association. Middle East Studies Association, member. Very Special Arts, Jean Kennedy Smith All Abilities Arts program, former board member. Studio Three Theatre, Founding Artistic Director. Cairo Writers Lab, Founding Artistic Director. SCHOLARSHIP & RESEARCH Campana, J. Literary Dramas and Critical Essays on the Climate Crisis in Egypt. Kotob Khan Publishing. Forthcoming, September 2026. Campana, J. “Theatre on the Climate Catastrophe in Egypt” In Critical Stages. June, 2025. Campana, J. and Amin, D. It’s Not Your Fault: five new plays on sexual harassment in Egypt. American University in Cairo Press, 2023. Campana, J. and Jahanmir, Y. Western Theatre in Global Contexts: directing and teaching culturally inclusive drama around the world. London: Routledge, 2020. Campana, J. and Seif, S. “Documentary Theatre in Egypt: devising a new play in Cairo” In Arab Stages. New York: Martin E Segal Theatre Center Press at City University New York. 9(1), 2018. Campana, J. “Playwriting as Participatory Action Research” In Elixir International Journal. 116, 2018. Finn, J., Campana J. and Jacobsen, M. “Participatory Research, Popular Education and Popular Theatre” In The Handbook of Social Work with Groups, second ed. New York: Guilford Publications, Inc. 2017. Campana, J. “Applied Theatre as a way to Provoke Connection” In Scene, UK: ISTA Press. 20(2), 2016. Campana, J. Acting Successful: using performance skills in everyday life. San Diego: Cognella Press, 2015. Campana, J. “Laban Movement Analysis: a tool for the actor” In Scene, UK: ISTA Press. 16(2), 2012. Campana, J. “Reincarnations of Flash Theatre” In Scene, UK: ISTA Press. (14(2), 2010. Campana, J. “Contemporary Acting in India: Authentic Exaggeration and Realism Unite.” In Triquarterly. Chicago: Northwestern University Press. 134, 2009. Campana, J. and Gardelli, A. “Collaborating Across Disciplines and Countries.” In Academic Exchange Quarterly. 12(1), 2008. Campana, J. “Lessons from the Stage – Theatre for Social Justice.” In Northwest Theatre Review. University of Oregon. 13(1), 2007. Campana, J. “A Participatory Methodology for Ethnographic Arts-based Research.” In UMI ProQuest. 2005. Campana, J. “Theatrical Pedagogy, Interactive Service.” In Academic Exchange Quarterly. 9(4), 2005. SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS Faculty Resilience, Reciprocity, and Revitalization through Mentoring, American Conference of Academic Deans, Phoenix, Arizona, 2026. Arts and Ecology, Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre, Cairo, Egypt, 2025. Video to Transform: social justice and harassment on the screen, Center for American Studies and Research, Cairo, Egypt, 2024. Anti-sexual harassment education in the Middle East, Middle East Studies Association (MESA), Montreal, Canada, 2024. Playwriting, Performance and Spectatorship, New Directions in the Humanities, Sorbonne, Paris, France, 2023. Creative Writing and Mental Heath, The Arts in Society, University of Krakow, Poland, 2022. Dramatic Change: transformation through performance, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, 2022. Owning The Past Through Collaborative Work: Developing the Osiris Myth for the Stage, The Arts in Society, Zaragoza, Spain, 2022. Community Development: arts to unify, US Embassy/USAID, Cairo, Egypt, 2022. Applying Arts and Drama to Group Work with Youth, Middle East/North Africa Regional Conference on Community Psychology, Cairo, Egypt, 2020. Western Theatre in Global Contexts, Association for Theatre in Higher Education, Orlando, Florida, 2019. Lysistrata in Cairo: maintaining boundaries while pushing the limit, The Arts in Society, Lisbon, Portugal, 2019. Collaborative Documentary Theatre Making in Egypt as a Response to Social Issues, The Arts in Society, Vancouver, Canada, 2019. Devising and World Theatre Traditions, Beijing Student Theatre Festival, Beijing, China, 2017. Performance Concepts for Business Leaders, American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt, 2017. Drama and Social Connections, Conway Hall, London, United Kingdom, 2016. Empathy in the
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