Dr. Sharif Bey is a Pittsburgh-born artist and is now an Associate Professor of Art at Syracuse University. He earned a B.F.A. in Ceramics from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, an M.F.A. in Studio Art from the University of North Carolina, and a Ph.D. in Art Education from Penn State University. He was commissioned by the U.S Embassies in Sudan and Indonesia to create large-scale installation pieces, and his work is featured in public collections including: the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Renwick Gallery-Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Hickory Museum, and the Petrucci Family Foundation Collections of African American Art.