FIYou: John Bailly ’90

Name: John Bailly ’90 (I received my MFA from the Yale School of Art in 1993)

Hometown: I was born in Slough, U.K. I lived in Long Island, Paris and Lyon prior to settling in Miami.

Job Title/Department: Fellow, The Honors College

Campus: Modesto A. Maidique Campus

In a nutshell: I am a painter and I like to paint. That is my passion. I also teach three courses in The Honors College: The Origin of Ideas and the Idea of Origins, Inhabiting Other Lives, and Aesthetics & Values: Art as Social Language. The last class is my favorite one. The A&V seminar examines the vital role visual art plays in the social and cultural dialogue surrounding controversial issues. It investigates how artists have challenged or enforced authority by creating new aesthetics. It further explores how art is used to initiate, accelerate or combat social change.

Number of years at FIU: 5

What do you enjoy most about your job?

The students. I love them. I never cease to be impressed by their intelligence, dedication and creativity. It is a pleasure and an honor to be a conspirator in their projects. This week I am Washington, D.C., with six students from the Honors College seminar Aesthetics & Values. They are presenting their wonderful projects at the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference.

What do you think faculty/staff and students should know about your department?

Students from all majors can join The Honors College. Our mission “is to provide an intellectual community where outstanding students and dedicated teachers and scholars pursue intellectual curiosity, critical thinking and personal and professional enrichment marked by excellence in all engagements.”

Where is your favorite spot on campus? Why?

The Frost Art Museum without any doubt – it is a transcendental place. I’m also attracted to the nature preserve area near the gym. It is so mysterious. I also like Bustelo’s and that odd, separate window room on the north end of the cafeteria.

If there is one thing you wish everyone knew about FIU, what would it be?

I think the genuine diversity and the outstanding quality of our students are our strongest assets. I firmly believe that our student body is among the very best in the country.

Family snapshot:

My father is French. My mother was born in Ohio, with Irish, English and German ancestry. My wife is Cuban, but born in Madrid, with some Chinese ancestry and a Norwegian grandfather thrown in the mix – she is beautiful. I have three children, “Les Enfants Terribles”: Andro, Amaranta and Atlas. They were all born in Miami. They are French-Cuban-English-Irish-German-Chinese-Spanish-Norwegian-American. “En bref, ils sont des pure Miamians.” [They are quintessentially Miamian.]

Word that best describes you: Chimpanzee.

First paying job: I have worked my whole life. I worked for a rent-a-car company when I was 13. I worked on construction sites the entire time I was in college. It was rough, but good money, good exercise and good people.

Favorite TV show: None. I think the world would be a better place without TV.

Your proudest accomplishment:

Still waiting on it. I’m never satisfied.

What do you do when you are not working at FIU?

I work on my paintings and embark on adventures with my family. We spend every summer in Brindas, a small town outside Lyon in France. I like to get lost and try to find my way home.