Beth Merfish, Ph.D.
Department Chair of Liberal Arts and Associate Professor of Art History,
College of Human Sciences and Humanities
Contact number: 281-283-3432
Email: merfish@uhcl.edu
Office: B2121.12
Biography
Beth Matusoff Merfish, Ph.D., is an associate professor of art history and the chair
of the Department of Liberal Arts in the College of Human Sciences and Humanities.
Her research and teaching interests include museum studies and public arts and science
presentations, including past partnerships with Space Center Houston and the UHCL
Art Gallery. She earned her doctorate and Master of Arts from the Institute of Fine
Arts, New York University, and her Bachelor of Arts from Wellesley College.
In 2021, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner appointed Dr. Merfish the inaugural chair
of the Houston Women's Commission. In that role, she leads a team of diverse commission
members whose charge is to advance equality and equity for women in the City of Houston
by identifying and addressing disparities in healthcare, employment, safety and security
across communities and industries, both in Houston’s public and private sector.