Patrick Palmer, who has taught art classes for almost 20 years at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's Glassell School, has been appointed the newest faculty chair/dean of the studio school and art history department. He will succeed Suzanne Manns, who is retiring.

Palmer's an accomplished artist in his own right, and his work can be found hanging in major collections around the country, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Denver Art Museum. He's also a longtime educator and has taught visual arts at City College of San Francisco, University of California at Berkley, Art League Houston and the University of St. Thomas.

"His appointment as faculty chair is a testament to his expertise, hard work and dedication, and we look forward to the contributions and achievements he will bring to the school in his new role here," Glassell School of Art Director Joe Havel says in a release.

The school will commemorate Palmer's appointment with a new exhibition, "Working in the Abstract," curated by Palmer himself. The exhibition will feature contemporary paintings by Houston artists David Aylsworth, Pat Colville, Terrell James, Michael Kennaugh, Susie Rosmarin and Brooke Stroud. It will open to the public with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, August 26, at the Laura Lee Blanton Gallery in the school.