An Art Historian with a special interest in California Regional art, Dr. Lila Staples teaches a variety of courses in the Visual and Public Art Department at CSUMB, and is a frequent lecturer at museums and universities in Central and Northern California.
As well as designing much of the Art History curriculum in the Department, Lila has developed a strong Museum Studies emphasis for VPA students. She has deep community relationships, having served as the President of the Monterey Museum of Art, as Board Member of the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History and of the Fort Ord Museum and Archive Project at CSUMB. She is a member of the core group developing an Asian Cultural Museum in Salinas, and involves her students in internships in the many museums and community arts organizations of Central California.