Kevin Hamilton was appointed dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts in 2018. He is also a professor of new media in the School of Art and Design and previously served as senior associate dean in the college.

A member of the Illinois faculty since 2002, he holds appointments in the Media and Cinema Studies program in the College of Media and has held campus fellowships at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications and the Center for Advanced Study. Hamilton's scholarship and artwork have earned support from the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Illinois Arts Council. Recent research on the role of photography in nuclear weapons research culminated in his book with Ned O'Gorman, Lookout America! The Secret Hollywood Studio at the Heart of the Cold War (Dartmouth College Press, 2018). Previous efforts include artwork on race and public memory, publication on interdisciplinary research methods, and examination of racial bias in algorithmic systems. Hamilton's training as a painter at the Rhode Island School of Design and in public art at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology continues to inform his investments and approach.