David Janowiak joined the College of Arts + Architecture as chair of the Department of Theatre in July 2023. Janowiak comes to UNC Charlotte from Western Oregon University (WOU), where he has spent the past seven years as professor and chair of the Creative Arts Division, following 17 years leading the WOU Theatre Department.
Janowiak has been successful as an administrator and community builder. He has orchestrated curricular revisions and development to keep departments and divisions dynamic and responsive to changing times and circumstances, including the development at WOU of Oregon’s second BFA pre-professional degree in theatre. He was also the Founding Artistic Director of Valley Shakespeare Company (VSC), the professional affiliate theatre at WOU. In 2022 he received a National Endowment for the Arts Grant to bring Spanish-language classical productions to the stage of VSC.
Janowiak served as artistic director of the Spotlight Theatre Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for five seasons and was a founding member and artistic director of Salem Repertory Theatre (Oregon), where he produced more than 20 shows and directed and acted seasonally. As a member of Actors’ Equity Association, he has worked at professional and regional theatres across the country and abroad, including The Northern Stage Company, Actors Repertory Theatre, The Little Sandwich Theatre, Salem Repertory Theatre, CoHo Theatre, Public Playhouse, Theatre Hebertot (Paris), Dallas Shakespeare Festival, and six seasons with the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival. He has won numerous awards and accolades for his acting and directing, including Best of 1990 in Theatre Week Magazine for his performance in the title role of Dr. Faustus at the Pitman Theatre in Milwaukee.
On camera, Janowiak has done numerous films and industrials, as well as print ads. He continues to work as a professional voice actor in films, commercials, and industrials.
Janowiak’s 25-year academic career includes stints at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (Manitowoc) and Lakeland College in Plymouth, Wisconsin. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.