Monday, February 14, 2000
Wake-up call
President Adams testifies before Web-Based Education Commission
Faculty renewal of library books moves to Web
Holiday schedule announced for 2001
Professor sets up ‘memory bank’ to preserve seeds of cultural legacies
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Administrative Changes

The art of change
Faculty discuss pros, cons of a separate College of Fine Arts
By Beth Roberts

In his 1999 State of the University address, President Michael F. Adams suggested that the university should consider developing a separate College of Fine Arts to house the arts units that are now included in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. The faculty has been discussing the pros and cons of the idea over the course of the past year. Columns spoke with Carmon Colangelo, director of the Lamar Dodd School of Art, about the nature and results of those discussions.

Columns: What followed the president’s suggestion?
Colangelo: The first reaction was some confusion, and a certain resistance to change. The faculty feel that Dean [Wyatt] Anderson [of the College of Arts and Sciences] is very supportive and has improved things a lot, and many faculty feel strongly about the tradition of having fine arts in Arts and Sciences, because of the interaction with other faculty.
I viewed the suggestion as recognition for the success of fine arts here. And I thought this was an opportunity for focus planning in the fine arts.
So we’ve had numerous meetings of faculty in small groups--department heads; faculty in art, drama, music, dance. There wasn’t much formal structure, but it was collaborative.
The best thing is that it forced us to address the issue. I started with the premise that the president was doing the right thing by telling us not to be complacent. The situation of the fine arts here is pretty good, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be better.

Columns: What are some of the other issues?
Colangelo: There’s concern about the effect on departmental budgets. And there’s a feeling that the advising process in Arts and Sciences helps lead students to the fine arts--and that might not happen in a separate college.
Another issue is the relationship between a separate college and fund raising. The fine arts at the University of Georgia aren’t very well marketed. We have only two development officers in Arts and Sciences, and one part-time public relations position in the School of Art. A College of Fine Arts would be more visible.

Columns: Have you produced a report on these issues?
Colangelo: Yes, we’ve put together a summary of the possibilities. And we’ve proposed that the next step would be a more formal discussion, a full feasibility study. We need to look closely at other models--Ohio State, the University of Texas, the University of Illinois. We need analysis of the issue of funding for a separate college--we don’t have any data yet. If President Adams feels that we should go ahead to the next stage, we need a feasibility study, and that requires funding.

Columns: Are there other specific suggestions in the report?
Colangelo: One of the first ideas that came up was an institute for creative exploration involving the fusion of the arts and technology, and we’ve included it in our report. It’s something that would be valuable in all the arts departments, something that we are all doing already in a smaller way. Film, digital media, Web design, electronic music--in all these programs the number of students who want to do it exceeds the available space.
We have a portfolio process that accepts about 70 percent of the students who want to be art majors--and that means we lose 30 percent, largely because we can’t provide seats for them in the studio. The institute idea would help to attract faculty members--and if we added more faculty we would add opportunities for students immediately.
The institute would be project-driven, and we would be looking for grants to carry out those projects. It’s a creative think-tank; it’s flexible. The focus is on the fine arts with the interdisciplinary interface with any other area, utilizing new technology.
Dr. [Karen] Holbrook [provost] was very supportive of that idea. We’re in a prime position geographically--the University of Georgia is poised to have a top graduate program in this area, and that program will benefit the undergraduates.

Columns: It sounds as though this proposal can be separated from the idea of college structure.
Colangelo: Structure matters, because funding has to be in place. But which college that funding comes from doesn’t matter. My argument is: no matter what structure, make sure we’re not missing opportunities.
That brings us back to the strategic-planning process. We’ve proposed a budget for the institute. We think it’s a good step toward collaborative opportunities. It would take some commitment to get it started and do it well, because the infrastructure for technology is not great here.
The institute would make a nice first step, to see if great media opportunities could create something with greater flexibility. It doesn’t address the idea of making the arts and sciences college smaller, but it addresses the issue of greater opportunities for undergraduates. And it could be done quickly.
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