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Originally from Philadelphia, PA, Ryan P. McMullen (M.F.A.) is a College Assistant Professor, Dance Program Coordinator, and Artistic Director at New Mexico State University, bringing over a decade of higher education teaching and creative leadership. His foundational movement background is deeply rooted in Philadelphia house dance traditions and somatic frameworks, including Pilates, Bartenieff Fundamentals, and the Franklin Method. His contemporary movement research and dance pedagogy emphasize momentum, gravity, fall and recovery, skeletal efficiency, and somatic conditioning.

McMullen earned his Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Slippery Rock University, where he received both the Excellence in Performance and Excellence in Choreography Awards, and was later honored with the Rock Alumni 10 Under 10 Award for his professional achievements. He earned his Master of Fine Arts in Performance and Choreography from Florida State University as a three-time recipient of the Men’s Provost Performance Scholarship, and is currently pursuing his Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Administration at NMSU.

As a performer, McMullen has danced works by distinguished artists including Rodger Belman, Rennie Harris, Alexandre Munz, Ursula Payne, and Jawole Zollar, and performed with Rennie Harris Puremovement in LIFTED! A Hip-Hop Gospel Musical. He also performed as a company member with Elevate Dance Theatre in Raleigh, NC. His original choreographic repertoire, including works such as FIRM, reset_go, Press to Start, Journey, _shift, and ROVE, has been presented at Dixon Place, Gibney Dance Center, Dogtown Dance Theatre, Bucknell University, the Koresh Come Together Dance Festival, NewGrounds Dance Festival, Small Plates Choreography Festival, and the Exchange Dance Festival.

Prior to his appointment at NMSU, McMullen served as Director of Dance at Louisburg College, Visiting Assistant Professor at Bucknell University, and Visiting Faculty at Slippery Rock University. At NMSU, he remains dedicated to expanding student opportunities, fostering community connection across Las Cruces, and advancing equitable leadership in dance higher education.