Smith University. He received his MFA from Washington State University with an emphasis in painting and drawing. Professor Kirkland is a co-founder and faculty of Johnson C. Smith Universities “Arts Factory,” an interdisciplinary Visual and Performing Art program with concentrations in Dance, Studio Fine Art, Graphic Art, Theater, Sound Art, and Film. Kirkland is the recipient of the O’Herron Distinguished Endowed Professorship, a founding charter member of the National Alliance of Artists from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and the founder of Psi Rho Alpha Visual and Performing Arts National Honor Society.